Not The End
by EnigmaPhenomenon
Summary: After G-revolution: What happens now that Boris' plans have fallen apart for the second time? Will he just give up or destroy the people who keep ruining his hardwork? Friendships being created and destroyed, new challenges arise for our Beybladers.
1. Prologue

_**PLEASE READ (Author's comments): **_**Ok, to start out with; this isn't the first story I have ever written in my life but it is my very first non-RP fan fiction. Hmmm… Let me just say why I decided to write a fan fiction.**

**1) All of the fan fictions I liked and thought were amazingly well-thought out can't be found anymore. I'm not even kidding, ALL OF THEM are gone.**

**2) I love Beyblade. I've been a fan of it for 6 years now. We all know about the new Beyblade series floating around right? I was over-joyed there'd be another Beyblade season then I find out it's a completely different series. So what do I do? I hold onto the hope that G-revolution will continue with new storylines and all the old teams. I know about the manga where they're all grown up and have kids of there own but riddle me this. After G-revolution ended, we're to believe nothing important happened in any of the beybladers lives until their kids enter a tournament? Just saying…**

**3) Re-addressing the point above, in my mind I keep playing scenarios of how a fourth season would be played out. So instead of wishing to see it, why not just write a few for other people (and myself) who would love to see new storylines, or even alternatives to what did happen in the series…you know, just to ease our minds a little.**

**4) Don't get the wrong impression of me, I love reading fan fictions, but for some reason I'm not getting much joy out of reading them anymore… I don't know why. So I figure maybe I'd write a few to get my ideas out there. **

**So without further delay, enjoy whatever I limp in with. (this story is strictly off the top of my head, Improv if you will.)**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade.**_

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

Brooklyn and Tyson's battle continued and ended with Tyson as the victor. Brooklyn walked over to his tattered beyblade and picked it up. This was the second time he had ever lost a battle but a smile was still on his face. Everyone cheered at Tyson's win. The metal gear system was a success and they had saved the sport of beyblading from Boris' malicious intent.

"Well, looks like you've won Tyson." Brooklyn said and closed his eyes, smirking.

"That was a really wild battle Brooklyn! One of the toughest I've ever had." Tyson grinned.

"Yeah, me too." Brooklyn nodded in agreement.

Tyson smiled and held at his hand "Maybe we'll run into each other again at the next world championship and beybattle again. Put all this Boris business behind us."

"Sounds good to me." he shook Tyson's hand.

The crowd cheered at the sight of Brooklyn and Tyson shaking hands. Boris who was watching them from a distance glared at them. Twice his plans had been ruined by Tyson and his friends.

"Surpassed your expectations Hiro? All of this was to make them stronger?" Boris snapped. "All of my plans ruined because of Tyson! Huh?" he glanced over to the right and saw Tala standing beside Mr. Dickenson then noticed Kai on the big rock pillar. Boris gritted his teeth.

"No, because of Tala…" Boris frowned. He stood up and walked off before anyone had noticed.

A crowd was around Tyson now. His friends, his teammates, and all his former competitors congratulating on his win. Bits and pieces of words could be heard among the jumble of voices. Daichi was doing back-flips and kept yelling that they won. Kenny and Emily were chatting about how successful their metal beyblades were, and Mariah had hugged Ray out of happiness while Brooklyn walked back to his own team and still had that simple smile on his face.

"Sorry guys, I couldn't pull off a win…" He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh Brooklyn I'm so proud of you!" Ming-Ming squeeled.

"That was the best I've ever seen you blade." Crusher smiled and clenched his fist with enthusiasm.

"You made us all pround. I'm sorry I couldn't help you before." Garland chimed in.

"Well, not like it's over." Brooklyn shook his head.

"Huh?" Ming-Ming looked confused. "What do you mean Brooklyn?"

"I'm looking forward to fighting Tyson again, in a proper match, at the world championships."

"The world championships?" Crusher blinked.

"I think that's a great idea! If I became the world champion oooh! I'd get more fans!" Ming-Ming shouted.

Garland was surprised at Brooklyn's easy-going attitude after his loss to Tyson. He looked at Tyson and all of his friends surrounding him. They all looked incredibly happy.

"Fighting in the world championships…"Garland tossed the idea around in his head and noticed a certain red-head.

He saw Tala and Kai standing next to each other in the distance. They were both staying away from the huge crowd surrounding Tyson. Tala was still bandaged up and walked with a limp from being bed-ridden for so long. Garland's expression changed and he started to walk towards him.

"Garland?" Ming-Ming asked as she watched him.

Garland didn't answer and continued to walk towards Tala.

"Looks like Tyson did it." Tala said.

"I didn't doubt him for a second." Kai said bluntly.

"No, I didn't either."

Kai looked up at him then saw Garland approaching and nudged Tala's arm, nodding in Garlands direction. Tala looked at Kai then looked in the direction he nodded, once he saw Garland his smile disappeared and his eyes narrowed. Garland stood about 4 feet away from Tala and closed his eyes, sighing.

"I don't really know what I'm suppose to say to you Tala…" Garland opened his eyes and looked at him. Kai watched the both of them then walked away so they could talk in private.

"You were right about Boris, he was just using all of us for his own ambition. So I guess, I wanted to apologize to you." Garland continued.

"You're apologizing so you'll feel better."

"No I really mean it. Everything you said about him was dead-on."

"He just used a different strategy to con other beybladers to follow his orders. That's the only thing that changed about him was how to fool newcomers."

"You too huh?" Garland asked.

"Once upon a time…" Tala shrugged.

Garland watched Tala then smiled "We should have a rematch sometime. How about it?"

Tala was looking at Garland suspiciously then smiled "Deal." he nodded.

"Then I'll catch you later." Garland waved slightly and walked back to his team.

Mr. Dickenson chuckled a little and walked up next to Tala. "Looks like you two got things resolved."

"I guess." Tala looked at Mr. D.

"Hey, Tala! Welcome back!" Tyson yelled and smiled energetically at Tala. Everyone had come over to Tala to see how he was doing now that he was out of the coma. Tyson was especially happy to see him. He even offered if Tala would like to stay at his place until he was completely healed but Tala declined his offer. Mr. Dickenson butted in in saying he had to take Tala to a previous engagement, they had to pick Bryan and Spencer up.

The BBA rebuilt itself as a small shack and Ray and Max were helping give lessons to kids who were new to beyblading. They were all wondering what they were going to do for the next world championships. Being part of the G-revolutions was fun battling side by side as a team again but they couldn't just throw away the White Tigers or the All Starz. One thing was for certain, they had to prepare for the next world championship.

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><p><strong><em>Ok, so what do you guys think? Not too bad right? Like I said I have alot of random thoughts about what could have happened just based on certain conslusions I came to from watching the series. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it. All of it is just improv.<em>**


	2. The BBA Revolution

**_So I'm just gonna say thank you to Never123 and CallMeASinner for the favorite! Sorry for putting you on the spot lol. Ok, moving on. Here's chapter 1, I don't really know how many chapters they'll be so...I guess stay updated. I got more hits and visitors than I expected in one day which was very pleasant. Anyway, I'd appreciate any reviews you guys have anonymous or registered. Alright here's Chap 1._**

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><p>A year had passed since the last World Championships. A year since BEGA's destruction. The BBA was back up and running, Mr. Dickenson was Chairman again, Boris had vanished without a trace, and Hiro hadn't been seen since Tyson and Brooklyn's big battle. For the most part everything was back to the way it was before. The G-revolutions enjoyed their time together fighting BEGA but decided they'd all go back to their old teams. Ray had gone back to China with White Tiger X, Max was back in America with the PBB All Starz and his mother, Daichi had moved in with Tyson and was enrolled in a school near Tyson's school, and Kai was back in his boarding school. There had been talk of another world championship taking place but there were no decision made on when or where it would be held or what type tournament style it would be. However, that didn't matter... just mere talk of the world championships had Daichi and Tyson in a whirlwind of excitement.<p>

"Aaaaaaalright! Another tournament? Hehe, ah sweet! Man they need to hurry up and decide it already I can't wait to get in the dish and show them how a 3 time world champion blades!" Tyson yelled enthusiastically at the breakfast table after seeing the news report about the championships. "I'll bet I'll take it away again this year!"

"Hey! What about me? There's no way you could have won last year without me!" Daichi protested.

"Huh...? OH! hehehe, sorry Daichi...I meant to say _we'll _take it away again this year, partner." Tyson smiled at Daichi.

"Now that's more like it." Daichi grinned and ate the last piece of fish.

"Hey what do you think you're doing? That last piece was mine!"

"What? Oh, sorry here." Daichi handed him the half eaten fish.

"I don't want it now!"

"Then what's the problem?" Daichi looked confused.

"The point is that was MY fish."

"Hehe not anymore!" Daichi laughed.

"Why you little-"

Tyson's grandfather opened the door and looked at the both of them. "Yo, you two dudes are gonna be late for school."

"Huh? But it's only- OH MY GOSH! WE NEED TO GET DRESSED!" Tyson yelled.

Five minutes later Tyson and Daichi were running out of the house and down the trail to get to school. The school was about a 15 minute walk from Tyson's house. Grandpa was standing on the front porch and watched the trail of dust Tyson and Daichi left from bolting out of the house so fast.

"Nice to see my little homie hasn't lost his enthusiasm." Grandpa smiled "But they didn't need to leave so fast I would have given them a lift..." he said to himself then broke out laughing as he walked back into the house.

"Come on! Daichi! Hurry up buddy!" Tyson yelled.

"Me? You're the one who's falling behind!" Daichi yelled back, and it was true. Daichi was a good 10 feet infront of Tyson and the gap just kept getting wider.

"See! I told you you should have let me have the last piece of fish! I can't run on a half-empty stomach!"

Daichi stopped and ran back and grabbed Tyson's wrist "Come on!" he started to pull Tyson with him.

"Ahg! Daichi! Stop it! It's really hard to run like this!" Tyson complained. Tyson had to hunch over because of the height difference between himself and Daichi which almost made him fall face first into the dirt.

When they finally made it to school the bell had already rung and Tyson and Daichi had to sneak into class somehow. Daichi and Tyson went their separate ways and Tyson had his back pressed up against the wall as he tried to make it to his class. He shimmied his way across the hallway and ducked under some windows that were on the closed doors. His real challenge came when he had to make it passed an open door.

"Ah, rats...trapped like rats." Tyson whispered as he peeked in the door to see where the teacher was. He knew if he was spotted he'd get busted for being late and not having a hallpass with him. When he didn't see the teacher in the classroom he nodded to himself and decided to run pass the opening. When he did he succeeded in crashing into, and knocking down, the teacher who was walking back to her room after retrieving a spare book for a new student.

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><p>It was lunchtime now and Hilary and Kenny were sitting at their usual spot to eat lunch. Both Tyson and Daichi weren't there and Hilary looked around in confusion.<p>

"Hey chief, I haven't seen Tyson or Daichi today." She said "I bet they're running late again."

"Oh don't worry Hilary, they'll show up, lunch is their favorite subject after all." Kenny reassured her.

"Yeah, you're right...don't know why i'm worrying." she shrugged and continued eating.

Sure enough, just as Kenny predicted Tyson showed up. He walked up and took a seat next to Kenny. "Morning Chief...morning Hilary."

"Good afternoon, Tyson. See Hilary. I told you there was nothing to worry about."Kenny smiled.

"Tyson where have you been?Why are you so late?" Hilary asked with a frown.

"Ok, where do I even start?" He groaned. "First, Daichi eats MY breakfast and makes me late for school, I didn't have time to grab my lunch money, I'm trying to get to my class like the good student I am when a teacher gets in my way and I get sent to the office for being late, not having a hallpass, running in the halls, and assaulting a teacher. Now I have detention for the whole week and community service! It's just not fair..." He sighed "I'm the world champ, I should have better treatment."

"I'd say you're lucky you didn't get arrested, why did you assault a teacher?" Hilary asked.

"I didn't! She got in my way and I accidentally knocked her down. It wasn't really my fault she was standing there." Tyson groaned again. "Man, how am I suppose to train for the world championships if my time is taken up with detention and community service?"

"You missed a test today in math too." Kenny added to Tyson's dismay.

Tyson was silent and just looked at Kenny with a defeated look.

"Thanks for your pep talk, Chief."

"Look Tyson, if it makes you feel any better there won't need to be any training."

"Whadya mean?"

"Well, we can't make a strategy if we don't even know when the championship tournament will be held. In other words, don't count your chickens before the eggs hatch." Kenny said and started typing away on his laptop. "We should wait for it to be announced before we actually start training for it."

"Yeah, I guess your right. Man now i'm even more bummed than before...nothing to look forward too..."Tyson sighed.

"By the way Tyson, where _is _Daichi?" Hilary asked.

"Huh? He should be here by now." He looked around. "I'll go look for him, jeez this day keeps getting better and better." he mumbled and walked off.

He spent his entire lunch period looking for Daichi and his stomach growled in protest. Tyson sighed and agreed with his stomach. He didn't see Daichi around the campus and went to Daichi's homeroom, thinking Daichi also got detention but was being held at lunchtime. When he didn't see Daichi there he asked the teacher who said Daichi hadn't shown up for class.

"What? He didn't show up at all?" Tyson asked.

"No, he's not here today. Is something wrong?"

Tyson was silent "Oh, no ma'am, nothings the matter. Thanks" he said quickly and ran out of the room. Now he was starting to worry. He made it back to Hilary and Kenny.

"You guys I can't find him, the teacher said he didn't show up today!"

"He's not here? Didn't you say you were both running late?" Kenny asked.

"Yah we left at the same time and got here at the same time, he didn't get lost on the way. I'm going to find him." Tyson turned just as the bell to go back to class rang.

"Tyson wait, class is starting!" Kenny yelled.

"Yeah but what about Daichi?" Tyson looked back at him.

"I'm sure he's fine but you can't just leave after showing up! You'll get a truancy and have more detention!"

"This is more important!" Tyson took off running.

Hilary watched him run off and looked at Kenny "What should we do Kenny?"

"We can't skip class." Kenny said "But if Daichi's lost..."

"We should go find him- what if he's hurt?"

"There is always that possibility but I don't even miss school when I'm sick!" Kenny protested.

"Kenny!" Hilary said.

"Ok, fine...man I hope Daichi appreciates this." Kenny said and followed Hilary.

"Hey! You kids get to class!" yelled one of the male teachers with a very deep and gruff voice.

It was no use, Hilary and Kenny were already spotted by the teacher and sent to class. They didn't know how to get away now that they were already in class.

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><p>As soon as class was over Hilary and Kenny ran out of their classroom.<p>

"Hurry Kenny!" Hilary yelled.

"I am hurrying!" Kenny yelled.

They ran until they were out of breath and were taking a break on a bench. Both were panting but Kenny seemed ten times more exhausted than Hilary.

"Man no sign of Daichi anywhere..." Hilary sighed.

"It seems that we should be looking for Tyson to see if he's found Daichi yet."

"We would've been able to sneak off if you didn't argue with me." Hilary looked at Kenny. "Now we're looking for 2 people instead of 1."

"Yah, well atleast we didn't miss class." Kenny said defensively.

"Hey, there he is!" Hilary yelled.

Kenny looked up "Daichi?"

"No, Tyson." she said.

Over in the distance on another bench just across from them was Tyson, sitting with his head down. They were at the park where Tyson use to give beyblade lessons and when he met Daichi for the very first time.

"Tyson!" Kenny yelled and ran over to him.

"No luck?" Hilary asked.

Tyson was quiet and shook his head. "No, I checked everywhere and I talked to everybody but no one saw anything! I even went to the police station to file a missing person's report but they said Daichi isn't a missing person unless he's missing for 24 hours!"

"Well that's a good point, I mean do we know for sure that Daichi is even missing?" Kenny asked.

"Look, chief. We both left at the same time and when we got to school he went to his class and I went to mi- wait...no he didn't!" Tyson frowned.

Kenny and Hilary exchanged looks then looked back at Tyson.

"Ahg that rat!" Tyson jumped off the bench and took off running towards his home.

"Unbelievable..." Hilary put her hand over her face.

Kenny smiled and laughed to himself. "Hilary, ever wonder what it'd be like being Tyson for a day?"

"Now that's a dangerous thought..." she nodded.

"Anyway, I suppose we'll tell him about that pop quiz tomorrow." Kenny shrugged.

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><p>Tyson burst through the doors of the dojo. "DAICHI!" he yelled.<p>

Tyson was out of breath and blinked at what he saw. The table was completely set and Daichi and Grandpa were in the middle of eating dinner, but had stopped to stare at Tyson.

"Tyson you forgot to take your shoes off." Daichi said with his mouth full of food.

"Yo, your food is getting cold little homie." Grandpa said to Tyson.

"Daichi where were you?" Tyson yelled and started to tug off his shoes. "You had me worried sick! More importantly I skipped lunch and the rest of the school day to come looking for you and you were here the entire time?"

"Hey, don't get mad at me because you made us late for school Tyson!" Daichi snapped and shoved rice into his mouth.

"ME?" Tyson growled.

"He came back home at around 12 today Tyson, not looking right." Grandpa explained.

"Huh?" Tyson asked, Daichi had went home at noon? What the heck had he been doing all that time?

"Daichi why didn't you just go to class?" Tyson asked him.

"I had better things to do."

"Is that so?"

"I was walking to my class but I found a dog."

"A dog?" Tyson quirked an eyebrow.

"It was laying in the bushes and whimpering so I went to get it food-"

"And where'd you get the money?"

"It was my lunch money."

"...continue..."

"So I bought it food." Daichi ate a dumpling. "Then I came back and fed it then it followed me around, I couldn't just go into class with a dog following me so I asked around to see if it had an owner."

"Did you find them?"

"Nope." Daichi shook his head.

"Ok...So where's the dog...?"

"In the backyard."

"Daichi!"

"I looked for the owner!"

"So why didn't you just come back to school?"

"That one was my bad T-man. I figured since the day was half over He could stay home. I'll write him a note tomorrow" Grandpa said.

"Ahg! That's not fair, what a perfect day!" Tyson yelled sarcastically.

"Sorry about that Tyson, I called the school and asked one of the teachers to let you know Daichi was here." Grandpa said.

"Ah man, why does it feel like the whole world is against me?" Tyson fell backwards onto the floor.

"Hey are you gonna eat that?" Daichi pointed to Tyson's plate.

"Yes! As a matter of fact I am!" Tyson jumped over to his seat and started shoveling the food into his face.

Grandpa watched both of them and smiled. Even though they were both a year older, they hadn't matured much but that was just fine.

"So, any news on that tournament?" Grandpa asked.

"No, and Kenny says we shouldn't worry about it until it's announced." Tyson explained.

"I coulda told you that." Daichi said.

"No one asked you!" Tyson looked at him.

"Well that's strange, you both got a letter in the mail today." Grandpa said.

Daichi and Tyson blinked and looked at him. "Letter?" they both said.

"Well, it's addressed to Tyson-"

"Hah sweet! fanmail from my adoring fans no doubt." he smiled and snatched it away from grandpa.

"To Tyson? Hey what about me I'm a world champion too!" Daichi yelled and looked over Tyson's shoulder.

Daichi tilted his head "what is it?" he asked.

"I don't know...it says the entire BBA revolution is invited to a special beyblading resort." Tyson said.

"Huh? beyblading resort? Alright that's awesome! Uhm...what's a resort?" Daichi asked.

"It says it's for the world championships."

"What's a resort?"

"It's a place you go to for something, like a spa resort, or a beach resort, in this case beyblading." Tyson explained.

"Oh..." Daichi nodded but still looked confused.

"So it's some sort of invitation to a shindig? What else does it say?" Grandpa asked.

"It says we're invited to the resort where we can have state-of-the art training facilities and at the end of the day all the beybladers will be able to wind down with gourmet food and a 5 star hotel room." Tyson read it off.

"They had me at food!"

"Me too! This will be the perfect chance to train for the tournament and show off my new skills!" Tyson smiled.

"Well this is a good chance for you two." Grandpa smiled and nodded.

"Yep! I wonder if Hilary and Kenny got this letter yet." Tyson said. "I'm gonna call him." Tyson went over to the phone and dialed Kenny's number.

Daichi eavesdropped on their conversation. Both Tyson and Daichi were excited about the resort until Kenny mentioned something. Tyson couldn't go because of his week of detention and two weeks of community service.

"Ahg, that's not fair! It's for the world championships I should be able to go! I'm the world champ after all!" Tyson yelled.

"I know, but if you skip your punishment it'll be worse when you come back." Kenny said.

"Darn it! Rats...then what are we suppose to do Kenny?"

"Hm...That's a good question..." Kenny nodded. "Maybe if we beg the teacher for forgiveness..."

"No way! There's no way I'm begging!" Tyson yelled.

"Have fun at home..."Kenny said.

"Ok, ok fine! I'll do it!" Tyson said.

The next day at school Tyson went to the principals office and actually got on his knees and begged for the punishment to be after the world championships, that he had a title to defend. He said he'd still carry out the punishment but he needed it postponed. Hilary, Daichi, and Kenny also tried to sway the principal's ruling and even Tyson's Grandpa called the principal to explain the situation.

After a few hours of begging and pleading with the principal he finally agreed.

Tyson jumped up "YES! Thank you! Woohoo!" Tyson ran out of the room and went to class.

"HAHAHA!" Daichi ran after him laughing.

Hilary watched them and sighed and bowed infront of the principal "Thank you so much sir...Sorry for their behaviour you just...really made them happy..."She explained.

"Uh, Yes thank you sire." Kenny bowed before both of them got out of there with their faces bright red from Daichi and Tyson's behavior.

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><p><strong><em>Ok that's it for this chapter. Sorry it took a few days for the update, anyway I hope you guys like this chapter aswell! Much much more to come. <em>**


	3. A Family of Blitzkriegs

_**Sorry for the lack of updates everyone. I've been Job hunting and things have been stressful over here on my end but anyway, this chapter will be about my favorite team the Blitzkrieg Boys!**_

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><p>It was another cold day in Russia. The sky was grey and cloudy while soft snowflakes fell from the sky and onto the snow blanket covering the ground. This was a typical morning in Moscow. The Blitzkrieg Boys had heard about the tournament announcement and were definitely going to enter it, if only they knew when it was.<p>

Bryan was sitting on the couch with Spencer watching the news when the announcement came on.

"So they're finally going to have another tournament huh?" Spencer asked.

"We're going to win this one hands down, with all the training we've been doing up until now the other teams won't stand a chance against us." Bryan nodded.

"Even without our new blades and all the training we'd still win it."

Bryan shut the television off and stood up and grabbed his school bag. "True."

"We'll have to tell Tala about it though." Bryan continued.

"If he even comes down." Ian walked out of the kitchen. "He's been locked in his room all weekend."

"What the heck has he been doing?" Bryan asked. "It's not his style to hide things from us...Kai on the other hand..."

"I'll go get him. About time he started talking to us again." Spencer said and walked upstairs to Tala's room. Over the entire weekend Tala had been in his room with the door locked and only came out to eat or go to the bathroom, his teammates didn't know what to make of Tala's sudden antisocial behavior. He would always get up the earliest and make sure things were in order around the house and the Blitzkrieg boys would always talk to each other, even though they weren't social with other people they were very social with each other. Now that Kai wasn't living with them anymore the tension had eased and they all felt comfortable again, so there had to be another reason to make Tala so reclusive.

Spencer walked up the stairs and turned to the right where Tala's door was hidden in a small hallway. Bryan and Spencer looked at each other then looked back at the stairs.

"Hey, Tala, are you up yet?" Spencer knocked on his door, there was no answer. "Tala?" He knocked harder.

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><p>Tala was sitting at him desk with his head in his arms fast asleep. He had his laptop infront of him, blueprints spread out across his desk, and spare beyblade parts everywhere. He jumped awake at Spencer's pounding of the door.<p>

He yawned "I'm up." he called.

"Hurry up, we've got school." Spencer said from behind the door.

"I'm skipping today, cover for me."

"Wha...?" Spencer looked a little surprised, not that Tala could see him. His face returned to a serious look and he tried to open the door, but it was locked. Spencer frowned. "What's bothering you? You haven't come out of your room in two days, you haven't talked to us, what's going on?"

"Nothing, everything's fine I promise." Tala said and turned and looked at the door. "Hurry up and get going you'll be late."

Spencer was quiet "You're sure everything's ok?"

"Yes, don't worry about it. Now get going."

"If you say so..." Spencer said and walked downstairs to Bryan and Ian who looked puzzled Tala didn't come down with Spencer.

"Is he ok?" Bryan asked.

"He says he is." Spencer nodded.

"You know Tala wouldn't admit to being hurt." Ian said.

"Yah, anyway, we better get to school now." Spencer sighed and opened the door.

"So we're just leaving?" Ian asked.

"Orders from the top." Spencer shrugged.

Bryan looked back to the staircase then followed Spencer, sighing. Ian watched them and followed as well closing the door behind him and locked it.

After a good 20 minutes Tala came out of his room and stood at the top of the staircase and watched the door. He smiled a little and walked back into his room. His computer made a beeping noise to let him know he had a new e-mail. Tala sat down in his computer chair and looked at the screen.

_1 unread message from Kai Hiwatari_

"Kai?" he blinked, wondering what Kai was doing sending him an e-mail. Curiosity finally overpowered him and he clicked on the e-mail.

"He probably wants to join the team again..." Tala reasoned.

When the e-mail opened up he started skimming it until something caught his eye.

"A letter...?" he leaned in a little closer and read it carefully. "A letter inviting the Blitzkrieg boys to a beyblade resort before the start of the world championships..."

Tala hit the reply button._ I didn't get any letter._

After he sent a reply he leaned back in his chair and looked at the plane desktop. His eyes moved over to a picture frame laying face down and he stood it up again. It was a picture of a man and woman standing close to each other. The man was wearing a Russian uniform and had a dignified, proud look, dark hair and light colored green eyes, the woman had a kind smile, gentle blue eyes and long flowing red hair that was tied back in a low ponytail.

Tala looked at the people in the picture and leaned on his elbow silently. After a while he scoffed and pushed it back to it's previous face down position.

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><p>Bryan was sitting in class staring out the window and watching the snow. He was bored. End of story. He couldn't wait to get home and not do his homework. He stared at the snow falling outside and kept thinking back to Tala. Spencer seemed pretty sure he was okay but Bryan still wondered if Tala really was alright or not.<p>

At the end of the day all the Blitzkrieg boys (except Tala) walked back to base with each other.

"It seemed too quiet not having Tala with us today." Bryan said.

"Let it go Bryan, he's fine." Spencer said. "You could hear it in his voice."

"Then what's he doing hiding in his room so much?"

"I don't know, but he'll let us know." Spencer shrugged.

"Eventually." Ian said.

Bryan sighed.

"Oh yah, It's around that time again huh?" Ian asked.

Bryan and Spencer looked at him.

"The day we became a team. Spencer and I met you and Tala after we had that exam at the abbey." Ian said.

"Feels weird talking about the abbey doesn't it?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah, I hate to admit it but that was the one good thing Boris did for us."

"We shouldn't give that guy so much credit." Bryan frowned. "He may have put us together in a team but he didn't make us friends you know. Don't even suggest that he's the reason we're together now."

"I was just saying, that could have been the only good thing, I'm not calling him a good guy or anything but we all met each other threw him." Ian said.

"We did not!" Bryan snapped. "He just used us he couldn't care less if we beat each other to a pulp every night as long as it didn't effect our ability to win!"

"Bryan calm down, I didn't mean-"

"I know what you mean, and I'm saying Boris had nothing to do with it!" Bryan frowned.

Both Ian and Spencer were taken back by Bryan's outburst. Spencer and Ian had been gloating about Bega being destroyed and to some degree both Tala and Kai were also relieved, even when it happened Bryan was happy Boris was taken down too but he didn't like giving Boris credit for anything.

Bryan looked at Spencer then Ian and scoffed, he started walking again. Ian and Spencer exchanged looks then started following Bryan again.

"Sorry for bringing it up then." Ian said.

Bryan looked down a little but before he could say anything he got hit in the face with a snowball. He shook his head and wiped the snow off his face. Now he looked even angrier and looked up to see who threw the snowball.

"About time you guys showed up!" Tala called. He was standing in front of their house with his arms crossed. "What took you so long I've been waiting for about 30 minutes."

Ian walked passed Bryan who was just standing there.

"Sorry about that, boss." Ian said.

Spencer walked by Bryan and tapped him on the shoulder slightly in a way that was saying 'I told you not to worry'. Bryan looked at Spencer then at Tala and sighed in relief before he too walked to meet their captain.

"Now that you're all here." He took out his new beyblade and showed it to them. "The new and improved Wolborg is finished." He smirked.

"Whoa..."Spencer blinked and looked at it.

"That's what you've been working on?" Bryan asked.

"Since the invention of the hard metal system, I decided to upgrade the metal to a lighter but stronger one." He explained. "It wasn't easy but I finally did it."

"Lighter but stronger?" Spencer asked.

"Within the legal limits." Tala nodded. "There's enough for you to upgrade yours as well. With blades like these not even Tyson can defeat them." he smirked.

"You couldn't have said something earlier?" Ian asked.

"No because I was busy."

"That's not what I meant..." Ian sighed "You couldn't have told us what you were doing before you did it?"

"No because I was busy doing it."

"You're avoiding the question aren't you?" Ian asked.

"Hey you're a good guesser." Tala smiled.

"...Right..." Ian sighed.

Bryan looked at Tala. "So nothing was wrong?"

"Nothing at all...look if I say I'm okay then I'm okay." Tala crossed his arms. "Moving on." He pulled 3 envelopes out of the inside of his jacket. "these all came for you, I'm assuming they're the same as mine."

"What are they?" Spencer asked and took his.

Bryan opened his up and read it.

"A resort?" Spencer asked.

"There's more in the envelope." Tala said. "Plane tickets, a formal invitation, and the time of our flight here in Russia. Everything except where to."

"Signed by the BBA." Bryan read.

"So we'll be able to train- this will be perfect, all the other teams will be too caught up with the gormet food and 5 star hotels to even think about training. It's like Mr. Dickenson wants the BBA revolution to lose!" Spencer said.

"No kidding, those losers would be too caught up in having fun." Bryan agreed.

"that means the Blitzkrieg boys will take the trophy this year." Ian smirked.

Tala watched them and stood there with his arms crossed. He wasn't as enthusiastic as the rest of his friends, what bothered him was Kai sent him an e-mail bringing the letter up which meant Kai had to feel something strange about it and Tala would be lying if he said he thought it was on the level as well.

His teammates noticed Tala's solemn appearance and looked at him, confused.

"Something wrong?" Bryan asked.

"We are going aren't we?" Ian asked.

Tala looked at them "I haven't decided that yet." he turned away and started to walk into the house, the rest of them followed him.

"We'd have enough time to get a hang of our new blades, they have a huge training facility really mastering them." Spencer said.

"Yah, and when we get to exhausted we can relax with all their other stuff so we don't injury ourselves passed recovery when the championship starts." Ian added.

"When the championship starts we would completely embarrass the other teams. We'd all be at the same resort but we'd be the only team who has their act together." Bryan said.

All of them trying to convince Tala.

"There's no reason to miss out." Ian said.

Tala stopped and turned around and looked at them. "What about the fact we don't know where it is?" he asked.

"Maybe to avoid the publicity." Bryan said.

"Yeah, that way the annoying paparazzi won't know where it is, that could be why we were sent plain envelopes and there wasn't any announcement on t.v.- well except the announcement for the world championship." Spencer said.

Tala looked at them then closed his eyes, when he opened them again. "Alright, we'll go but be cautious. I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Don't worry about it Tala." Spencer waved the idea away.

"Just don't forget to upgrade your beyblades." Tala said. "Let's have everything covered."

"Sure thing, you know we can handle it." Ian said.

* * *

><p>It was around 10 pm now. Tala was downstairs looking out the window at the snow. He took Wolborg out and looked at the picture on the bit. Tala never realized how much the snow was apart of him. He had always liked the snow, ever since he was a child but it was always a likeness...that was it. A likeness to snow not of snow. Tala looked from Wolborg back to the window. Since he left the abbey he had felt closer to Wolborg, closer to the snow. He didn't understand why.<p>

Bryan walked out of his room and made his way to Tala's room. He went to knock but saw the door was cracked open so he just walked in. "Hey Ta-..."he looked around, not seeing him. Bryan did notice the picture frame face down on Tala's desk. He sighed and walked out of Tala's room, he felt awkward going into Tala's room when he wasn't there. When he had no luck with finding Tala in his room he walked downstairs to go to the kitchen and that's where he saw Tala at the window.

Bryan saw him staring out the window, clutching Wolborg in his hand.

After a while of staring Bryan walked up next to him. "What are you looking at?"

"The snow..." Tala answered.

Bryan smirked a little, it was a repeat of the conversation they had when they were back in the abbey. "You know Ian said that the anniversary of the Blitzkrieg boys is coming up."

"Why would he say such a stupid thing?" Tala asked.

Bryan glanced down at him then looked out the window too. "I don't know, Boris has nothing to do-"

"Boris?" Tala looked at him. "I thought we agreed not to acknowledge him." he frowned a little.

"Which is why I told Ian he had nothing to do with our team."

"What did he say?"

"That the one good thing about Boris was he started our team." his eyes narrowed.

Tala looked back to the window. "He did."

Bryan gritted his teeth and glared slightly at Tala "How can you stand there and say he's the reason we're all here?"

"Because he is." Tala said bluntly and looked back at Bryan.

Bryan's glare disappeared when it meant the intense, icey look of Tala's blue eyes.

"Boris started BIOVOLT, BEGA, the Demolition Boys, all of it, he did it." Tala frowned. "He gave Kai the Black Dranzer, he recruited Garland and his team the same way he did to us, he sent Barthez to make an example out of Miguel. Boris is responsible for a lot of things Bryan. It's the truth, if you want to deny it or accept it. He recruited us because he knew we were weak."

Bryan frowned a little in defiance and looked back out the window.

"He started us as the Demolition Boys, now we're the Blitzkrieg Boys, we did all meet because of him but that's not the reason we're friends." Tala sighed and looked out the window. "Not that it justifies anything he has done."

Bryan was still frowning and turned to look at Tala again. "But we're not under his control anymore, he's not why we're a team now."

"Enough." Tala snapped.

Bryan flinched and Tala turned to face him. "What's with all the talk about Boris?" Tala asked.

"I just..." Bryan shook his head and shrugged.

"Okay, first of all, stop wasting your thoughts on him. Second of all, he's still a jerk. third of all, he started our team and made us beybladers but what we do now is our decision. We don't take orders from him anymore. Fourth of all, he plays with peoples emotions. Miguel and his team wanted to be champions, we wanted to get off the street, Kai wanted power, Crusher wanted to save his sister, Ming-Ming wanted to be famous, and Garland wanted to continue his family tradition. Everyone he comes into contact with he cons, he almost recruited Tyson too." Tala listed off the reason's sounding a little angry. Every reason he listed off he took a step closer to Bryan and got a bit louder and Bryan stepped back.

Bryan had his back against the wall and Tala was standing in front of him with a frown. "Now, what else haven't we covered yet?"

"No that...that's pretty much all of it." Bryan shrugged.

"Boris got us off the streets, he paired us together as a 'team' but we were just his group of puppets. We were the Demolition Boys back then, now we're the Blitzkrieg Boys." He said and started to walk away then stopped and turned around to look at him. "Who don't waste our time on Boris." he started to urn away but stopped, looking back at Bryan "Understand?"

Bryan looked at Tala and smiled before nodding. "Yeah."

"Alright, goodnight." He started to head upstairs to his room, sighing a little. His mind was very busy, something about the resort was bugging him.

Bryan watched him and nodded "Yah, goodnight." he said and looked out the window again.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Ok so this was the chapter including the Blitzkrieg Boys, for those of you who don't know there was a part of the beyblade manga from tala's point of view and it involved tala thinking to himself about the snow, how much he liked the snow because it hid the "dirty" "ugly" earth below. bryan also asked him what he was looking at and tala replied "the snow." then later replied "the future" and also bryan and tala were best friends and they met on the street and their friendship had remained even during the abbey although in the anime it doesn't show. seriously what i can't stand about beyblade is there's not enough blitzkrieg boys, they were the villains in season 1 and we don't see much of them compared to the other antagonists and other villains who appear in beyblade. <em>**

**_anywho, moving on, the blitzkrieg boys are very much a family. bryan and tala joined the abbey together and spencer and ian were already in the abbey and already knew each other. so just a little FYI for those who don't know much on the blitzkrieg boys. :)_**

**_I hope you guys enjoyed it!_**

**_Again sorry for the lack of updates!_**


	4. The Beginning

**It's fine i'm sure you're all going to skip this anyway. But anyway it's time for an update.**

**Now let me say i will try very hard to keep everyone in character unless given a reason why they break character i.e. in v-force Kai had a breakdown of sorts after what happened to Wyatt and when he saw Wyatt in Goki. So to the best of my ability i will keep the characters true to themselves.**

**anonymous reviews are welcome.**

**feel free to leave a review i value all your insight. just let me know how the story's going for all of you.**

**Also, i'll try to cover as many characters as i can and show all perspectives as best i can. Hmm..what else...oh and the reason why i'm skipping the other teams getting their letters in the mail is because i felt it would just be boring and repetitive, like "we get it. move on with the damn story." so i will do just that.**

**enjoy.**

* * *

><p>The date was set. All the teams who had received the letter in the mail were all boarding their planes. The plane ride was incredibly long...too long. After what seemed like forever the planes finally landed. All the teams stepped out of the plane and took a look around. They were near the ocean. Over by the docks was a very large ship. Daichi stumbled out of the plane "...uhg..." he put his hand over his mouth. The rest of the team rushed by him.<p>

"Hey Daichi! Hurry up! we're world champions don't let a little air sickness keep you down!" Tyson yelled back at him.

"I'm not- oh forget it..." Daichi staggered down the steps to the pavement.

"Hey Tyson!" Max yelled and waved at him. He had just gotten off the plane with the PPB All Starz.

"Maxie!" Tyson smiled and ran over to him "So did you get that letter in the mail too?" he asked.

"Yah! All of us did, by the looks of it so did the other teams." Max said and looked over at the other teams stepping out of the plane.

"Hmph...you guys can all train if you want, it's not going to help you, not against me that is." Rick smirked.

"Oh yah? We'll see about that won't we Rick!" Tyson pumped his fists into the air.

"With our new technology and blades you won't stand a chance. The PPB All Starz are going to win this one." Emily smiled and adjusted her glasses.

"Blah, blah, blah." Tyson shrugged it off.

"By the way Ty, where's Daichi?" Max asked curiously.

"He's getting off the plane." Tyson shrugged.

"Still...?"

"Yeeeeaaaah, he get's air sick alot." Tyson nodded but waved it off.

Max blinked then smiled "Oh." he laughed a little. "Well, we'll see you later." Max waved and headed off with his team but not before Rick gave Tyson a smug smirk.

Tyson watched them walk off and smiled. "Sweet, looks like everyone made it." Tyson looked around. Hilary grabbed his arm and started to pull him.

"Ouch, Hilary!"

"Tyson come on, you can socialize later!" she said.

"Yeah I guess you're right, but look everyone's here." he motioned at the other teams.

"Talk to them later." Hilary scolded and led him to the ship.

"This is strange..."Kenny said and looked around. "There's no guides."

"What do you mean chief?" Hilary looked at him.

"I mean, there's no one telling us where to go or what to do." He said.

"Huh?" Tyson blinked "Well...yah you're right."

"But we were given these programs by the steward on the plane." She said and unraveled hers. "It had a map of where we're suppose to go and what we're suppose to do, it says to board the boat now."

"I know but it's just strange." Kenny said.

"Oh stop being a baby Kenny, there's never guides telling us what plane to get on it's all already booked for us like this one."

"That is true..." he nodded "Oh I should have come more prepared, ok, GPS...check. Emergency phone...check. First aid kit...check. Hm...I feel like i'm forgetting something."

Tyson and Hilary exchanged looks then looked back at Kenny with confusion. He had packed everything they needed and more what could they be forgetting.

"Uhg..." Daichi wondered up next to them "I feel sick..."

"Oh! Yeah here Daichi..." Kenny took some air sickness pills from his bag "just take two of these and you'll feel better in no time." he smiled.

"What are they...?" Daichi looked at them.

"Air sickness pills, you'll feel better."

"Hm...well ok if you say so." Daichi took them without hesitating.

"Come on, we should get going now." Hilary said and started walking away.

"But I'm not better yet!" Daichi yelled.

"COME ON!" she snapped and they all jumped.

"Yes ma'am!" they all yelled and followed her.

F-Dynasty had been watching the conversation between the PPB All Starz and the BBA revolution as well as the talking between the BBA revolution members.

"Those fools really think they stand a chance." Julia smiled and put her hand on her hip. "With our new attacks they won't know what hit them, it's pointless for them to be here."

Raul looked at his sister with a smile "Yeah..." he nodded.

"You'll be fine in the one on one battles this time right?"

"Yeah, of course...We never blade alone." he nodded.

Julia smiled "Good. Let's go." she said and led him to the ship.

* * *

><p>Once all the teams had stepped onto the ship about 15 minutes later the ship started to move. At this point it was dark outside. Most of the teams were in the rooms they were assigned and were resting. Garland however was out on the deck leaning on the railing with a slight smile on his face. He was enjoying the night air and the light breeze. Mystel suddenly fell out of the sky and landed on the railing next to Garland.<p>

Garland looked at Mystel then looked up "How did you...?" he looked around, not seeing anything that Mystel could have jumped off of.

Mystel smiled and took his mask off "What are you doing out here anyway, it's getting cold out."

"I'm not really tired. I was just thinking about the training facility...afterwards it'll be our first world championship."

"That means we'll face Tyson and the rest of them right? That's what you were really thinking about weren't you Garland?" Mystel asked.

"Well that too, I look forward to fighting Tyson. But I think the training will do Brooklyn some good and Ming-Ming could use some more training too."

"Yeah, she's gotten a little sloppy with her blading recently...So has Crusher's" Mystel agreed.

Garland was quiet then looked up at the sky "I'm a little worried about Crusher."

Mystel looked at him "Why's that?"

"Well, the whole reason he got into blading was because of his sister. Since she's out of the hospital I wonder if his heart is really in it."

"If it wasn't he wouldn't have agreed to come along with us."

"That may be true..." Garland nodded.

"He came with us so that means his heart is really in it" Mystel shrugged.

"Yeah, you're right. He put up a good fight against Ray...and this time it's the world championships."

"He wants to make his sister proud." Mystel said.

Garland turned to look at Mystel but he was gone. "...huh?" Garland looked up in the air again to try and see where Mystel could jump. When he still couldn't see anything Garland simply smiled and went back to looking at the horizon line. His very first world championship tournament, a new training base by the BBA. Boris was long gone, things were looking up and he looked forward to fighting Tyson and making his family proud.

* * *

><p>The boat ride was long; long like their flights. By the time they had arrived at the docks it was 2 in the afternoon. It had taken them maybe two days to get to their destination in total but they still had to walk to the hotel.<p>

Tyson yawned as he walked down the dock "Uhhh man what a long ride..." he complained. "I'm tired."

"Me too..." Daichi nodded.

Hilary looked at them and frowned "You guys slept the whole way here and only woke up to eat...wow." she sighed.

"But that's tiring...good thing this doubles as a resort." Tyson lifted his head and looked at the sky and all the tall trees. "This place better be nice." he said and bumped into someone.

"Ow, Tyson!" Tala yawned and looked back at him "Watch where you going."

"Oh, hehe sorry about that Tala." Tyson smiled "You got that letter too huh?"

"Yeah, all the teams got one." Bryan rolled his eyes at Tyson.

"At least all the teams involved with the BBA." Tala said and watched the other teams getting off the boat.

"Tyson." Ray smiled as he walked passed them. "Hey I didn't see you at the airport." he said.

"! I didn't see you there either."

"So it looks like all the teams really did get invited." Ray glanced at Tala.

"Yep. Aw man this is awesome!" Tyson said "And to think all of you guys won't stand a chance against me." Tyson smiled.

"Yah we're world champions!" Daichi shouted and pointed at Tala "You got lucky last time, this time Strata Dragoon will destroy Wolborg!"

Tala just smirked. "Oh is that right Daichi? Well I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed."

Ray laughed a little "Tala, is Kai not with you?" He asked, noticing Kai wasn't with the Blitzkrieg boys.

Tyson blinked like something snapped in his head. "Oh yeah, man how did I forget Kai? He joined with your team didn't he?"

Hilary nodded "I didn't see him at the airport come to think of it."

"He got on the ship with us." Spencer said.

"So? Didn't one of you guys share a room with him?" Mariah asked.

Bryan, Spencer, and Ian looked at Tala.

"Hey it's not my job to watch him! I'm not his babysitter." Tala crossed his arms.

"Aw hey don't worry about it Tala" Tyson waved it off "He does that thing all the time."

"We know..." Ian said.

"Hm, well I wonder where he could have gone." Mariah said.

"Who knows that guys a freaking mystery." Tala sighed.

"Hi Ray!" Max smiled and walked by them "Come on what are you guys standing around for let's go check out the hotel." He smiled and walked by all of them.

"Yeah, you guys are going to miss out on your training and trust us when we say you'll need it." Michael said in a snobbish way and walked by them too.

"They're right about the training part, see you later guys." Tala waved and walked off with his team.

Tyson and Ray watched them walk away then looked at each other.

"Did he look tired to you?" Ray asked.

Tyson nodded. "Yeah, he didn't look so good."

Daichi smiled "He's just scared to lose against me again!"

Tyson blinked and looked after Tala "I hope everything's alright."

Ray looked at Tyson "We'll see you inside." Ray said and started to walk.

"Hey wait we're coming!" Tyson yelled and his team walked to the hotel with White Tiger x.

* * *

><p>Kai was standing on the boat with his arms crossed and watched how chummy all the teams were. He had his usual scowl on his face and jumped off the ship as it started to move away from the docks. Kai stood up and started to walk and checked in saying he was with the Blitzkrieg boys. The receptionist smiled and handed him a clipboard.<p>

"Please find the right page and sign your name." She said.

Kai took the clip board and flipped through the pages, he stopped on one of the pages and his eyes narrowed. He stood there, staring at the page.

The receptionist looked at him curiously "Sir...?"

Kai stared at the page and stared at a particular name: Brooklyn Masefield.

After few moments of glaring at the name he turned the page and found all the Blitzkrieg boys' names. He signed his under Ian's name and handed the clipboard back to her.

The receptionist looked at his name and smiled.

"Kai Hiwatari. Alright here you go, the room number is on the key." She handed him his room key and went back to her computer.

"Thanks." He said in a bit of a cold tone. He looked at the number on the key and went over to the directory in the hallway. Once he found the floor the room was on he decided to take the stairs, just to avoid being stuck in a metal box with other people.

He walked up atleast 5 flights of stairs before he broke a sweat. Kai stopped and held the railing, resting for a moment. His panting echoed in the stairwell.

"How many flights was that...?" he looked at the number beside the door. Floor 5. He still had a few more flights of stairs to climb. "Alright, let's go." he pushed himself off the railing and continued walking.

Finally, yes finally he arrived at his room. At this point Kai was sweating and breathing heavily. The room number was 1061. he had climbed up 10 flights of stairs in total but Kai considered it early training. He unlocked the door with his key and walked into the room but stopped in the doorway. He had expected everyone to be out exploring or training but he was wrong. In the bed farther from the door was Tala who was fast asleep. He had taken his jacket off and laid it over a chair so he was wearing his long sleeve black shirt.

Kai closed the door quietly and kept his eyes on Tala as he walked over to the bathroom, yep, he was asleep. Dead asleep.

_What's wrong with him? _Kai thought as he turned on the light in the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Tala had slept pretty soundly on the boat too. It was to the point where Tala slept almost as much as Tyson which wasn't only creepy to think about but really strange. Tala pushed himself. He was still use to his training in the abbey...exercise at dawn until dusk. Everyday was training so it wasn't as if Tala got tired easily so what was it that made him so tired.

"Hn..."Kai sighed and started the shower, he'd start training first thing tomorrow morning. Maybe Tala had the right idea to get some rest before the training actually began. It was a pity though, Kai had hoped to be in the room alone but since Tala was asleep and didn't snore like Tyson did it was almost the same thing as being alone. Well...it wasn't a vacant room but it was better than it being filled with people.

After his shower Kai walked out of the bathroom and sat on his bed, drying off his hair.

"Where were you...?" Tala asked and looked at him. "You're late again..."

"I was still on the ship."

"Doing what...?" A sleepy Tala asked.

"It's my business Tala, none of your concern." Kai said bluntly.

Tala smirked and rolled over to face Kai, propped up on one arm. "Taking care of that stray cat on the ship?"

Kai frowned and closed his eyes "Like I said it's none of your concern."

Tala laughed and turned his back to Kai "Yeah, sure." He yawned.

Kai put the towel around his neck and glanced over at Tala. "Hn...If you knew why did you ask?"

"I just really wanted to hear it from you. Big bad Kai has a soft-spot for kittens."

Kai narrowed his eyes "None of your concern." He said again.

"Relax, I'm only teasing you." Tala said.

Kai sighed and looked over at Tala, keeping quiet for a while. He turned back to facing forward and opened his mouth to say something but hesitated.

"Are you feeling alright?" Kai finally asked.

Tala was silent for a few moments. "Yeah, Of course."

"If you end up collapsing during training-"

"I'm not going to collapse! I'm fine. In any case what about you? Why are you so talkative?" Tala sat on the edge of his bed, looking at Kai.

"Hn..." Kai ignored him.

"You know something about this is strange too. It's not like you to e-mail me out of the blue just to 'see how I'm doing' so, what was it?" Tala asked.

Kai didn't say anything and continued to dry off his hair.

"Stop ignoring me!" Tala snapped.

"It's because something about this little invitation seemed strange." Kai said bluntly.

"The strangest thing about it is none of the coaches were invited. If a team was going to train why wouldn't the coach be there too? Another detail that grabbed my attention was Mr. Dickenson didn't say anything to the teams. He would have made an official announcement wouldn't he? Seems like he would have told all the Bladebreakers about it and that it'd be announced in one of our meetings."

"The Bladebreakers don't exist anymore." Kai said bluntly, he didn't acknowledge anything else Tala said but he listened. Tala was right. More than one thing was off.

"Just keep your eyes open." Tala sighed and laid back down again. "We start training tomorrow morning."

It was obvious Tala wasn't going to get any type of response from Kai. The conversation was over before it started. Although now Kai was brooding about the idea in his head. Was he fooled like all the others? and if Tala suspected something why did he even come along in the first place.

"Right." Kai nodded and stood up. He walked to the door and opened it. A white envelope fell to the floor. Kai looked down at it and picked it up.

"Hm..." Kai held it up to the light.

"What is it?' Tala asked, sitting up again.

"An envelope."

"Open it, then." Tala got up and walked over to him.

Kai tore the top of it open and pulled a folded piece of paper out of it. Kai read over it and his eyes narrowed.

"What is it?"

"They're having a dinner tonight for all the teams. A welcoming party."

"For all the bladers? Hm...That sure is generous for a regular resort." Tala put his hand on his hip.

Kai glanced at Tala then back at the paper. The more he thought about it the more what Tala had said seemed to make sense. It seemed way to good to be genuine.

"They're trying to hard to buy us." Kai said.

Tala nodded. "Yah, no kidding."

There was a knock on their door and Bryan, Ian, and Spencer walked in "You guys get one too?" Ian asked.

"Yeah."

"Something's strange about this, I don't like it." Bryan said and looked at Tala.

"It's just an invitation to dinner." Spencer said.

"No, Bryan's right." Tala crossed his arms.

"I am...?" Bryan blinked.

"I think we'll go explore this place a little bit." Tala walked over to the chair and grabbed his jacket.

"Exploring? For what?" Spencer asked.

"To see if we find anything out of place." Kai said bluntly and walked by them.

"Then what?" Ian looked at Tala.

"Then we go to dinner." Tala smiled a little and walked by them.

Spencer, Ian, and Bryan all looked at each other, shrugged, then followed Kai and Tala.

* * *

><p>"Sir the preparations are ready." The woman said to the dark figure behind the desk.<p>

"Excellent...Be sure to treat them with the up most respect...They're V.I.P" Boris smiled.

"There is just...one more thing sir..."

"What is it?"

"It seems Tala Valkov and Kai Hiwatari suspect something wrong about the island. They've gone to investigate now." the woman explained.

Boris smiled and stood up "I would expect nothing less from such bright and talented young men. Well, no need to worry. Keep them away from the main points."

"Sir." the woman nodded and walked off.

Boris watched her leave and smiled evilly. "Heheh...They won't find anything." Boris said to himself. He rose from his seat and made his way over to the window and stared out it. "You won't ruin things for me, not this time."

* * *

><p><strong>phew...okay, man it's getting longer and longer huh? sorry about that guys...wait...maybe it's a good think. Anyway i hoped you enjoyed this chapter and there's much more to come. So, until next time... :) <strong>


	5. Suspicion

**AnimeKiwi369: thanks for your reviews. i took your advice and hopefully this is at least a slight improvement from the other chapters. so with that in mind, enjoy. as the story goes on everything will be explained such as the man and woman in tala's picture. **

**to everyone else, here's the 5th...? 5th chapter of this fanfic. i hope to read your reviews as well. Keep in mind that i am trying to keep everyone in character but some problems come up, problems like...i'm not takao aoki and the blitzkrieg boys are shown the least out of all the other teams so it's hard to fill in those gaps. but i'm using hints in the 3 seasons i've seen and some of the manga to come to my own conclusions, i just hope you guys like the conclusions...so enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Boris ran his fingers through his hair to make sure it was slicked back in its usual way. An evil smile was planted on his face. His office walls were painted a dark forest green to match the bleak almost black looking green carpet. The desk was a normal deep brown color that had files neatly organized on its surface, what they were was unknown to an outside eye, there was no text on the outer pages. Other than those small details, his office was rather plain. The only other object that could be seen in his room was a telephone sitting by the paperwork.<p>

As soon as Boris moved away from the window, the phone went off with a high-pitched ring.

The man stopped and checked his watch, "Right on time." He smiled.

Without hesitation, he picked the phone up. "Hello? No, I'm not angry…a little perturbed, but I am not angry."

He paused.

The voice on the other end of the phone was dark and sinister, like a snake's, it hissed on practically every word. For a few moments, Boris stood listening before a frown stained his face.

"What are you suggesting?" He demanded. "No, we cannot afford delays! No delays! We need to do this as quickly as possible!"

Boris fell silent again. A sigh escaped his lips as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. After a few more minutes of listening to excuses, he spoke again.

"I already understand that! We cannot stray from the schedule; the slightest thread out of place will ruin this entire tapestry! Just give me results! Do you want your paycheck? Do you want to eat? Just get on with it!" He slammed the phone down and collapsed in his chair with his hands over his head.

_Surrounded by incompetence. _He thought. The purple haired man shook his head and picked the phone up again. Instead of dialing a number, he hit an unmarked speed-dial button.

"Yes, it's me again. I called to let you know the plans are going according to plan. Although I have to tell you that Tala and Kai are meddling in our affairs but you needn't worry they won't find anything." Boris smirked. "Sir, do you think that's wise? We don't want to push them before the time is right…alright yes I will do just that."

With that, the phone call was over and all that could be heard was a man's laughter. It was of excitement, the way a child laughs right before getting the toy they wanted, the impatience yet the willingness to wait for it. That kind of laugh. Boris licked his lips at the thought of all his plans going through the motions. (Boris licking his lips….disturbing thought sorry people.)

* * *

><p>The clock struck 5 p.m. and all the beybladers were following their invitations to a gigantic dining room. The room itself was huge; it was big enough to hold champion beyblade matches in. The floor reflected the ceiling and all the blader's faces in its white and black tiles. Around the rectangular room, were multiple doors with chef's and butlers scurrying in and out of them frantically; trying to set the long table located in the center.<p>

Julia's eyes lit up at the grand chandelier hanging over the table. Awe's were heard from all the different teams.

Ming-Ming giggled "Oh my goodness all of this is for us? A girl could get use to this."

"This place is pretty nice…I wish Monica was here to see it." Crusher said as he looked at the length of the table.

"Tyson! What are you doing get back here! That's rude!" Hilary shouted.

Soon all the beyblader's eyes were on Tyson and Daichi who excitedly ran up to the long table and took their seats eagerly waiting the meal.

"Ah man…this is making us look bad." Hilary put her hand over her face.

"Yeah…well what can you do?" Kenny sighed.

Ray and Max had smiles on their faces at their two ex-teammates. The three-time world champion had not changed at all over the last year although, Daichi probably served at some sort of catalyst to Tyson's on-going behavior.

Soon all the beybladers were sitting together all having a gourmet meal complete with appetizer, main course, and dessert. Trash talking and jokes were flying across the room, but even so, most of it was just in good fun. The seat order went as follows:

BBA Revolution.

PPB All Starz

Barthez Battalion

White Tiger X

Blitzkrieg Boys

F-Dynasty

BEGA

Absolutely every plate, even those of the missing bladers, was filled up with fresh, gourmet food arranged in a fancy order. The main course was the largest. A porterhouse teak with dark red juices flowing from it, sizzling, steamed green vegetables vibrant with color, and everything else on the table they could pick for themselves. Rice, bread, French fries, soup, absolutely anything else they could possibly want with their main meal.

"Something's missing…oh I got it!" Max snapped his fingers and pulled his trusty mustard bottle from his pocket.

"It's not gourmet without mustard." the playful blonde smiled.

"Ew that's disgusting!" Ming-Ming yelled.

"Hey not until you try it!" Max defended his food.

Garland watched Max and Ming-Ming fight back and fourth before looking over to Brooklyn's seat, which was vacant. In total, there were seven vacant seats. Mystel was missing too and no member of the Blitzkrieg Boys was present as well.

"Well, more for me." Gary smiled and started to take some of the Blitzkrieg Boys' food.

"Gary! What are you doing?" Mariah scolded.

"Well they're not here…we really shouldn't waste food and Tyson and Daichi are pigging out, there won't be any left for seconds."

"You can't just take other people's food! If you want it you should ask them first." she frowned.

"But they're not here." Gary looked confused.

"Oh never mind…"She put her hand over her face. "Just leave it alone already…"

Gary sulked and put the plate back where it belonged. He stared at the food with a sorrowful look as if he were saying goodbye to his best friend. What was the big deal? It's be bad to let all that food go to waste…none of the Blitzkrieg Boys were present anyway.

Just as that thought fluttered by, Tala and the rest of his team, minus Kai, walked into the room. The room got quieter with the sudden icy presence of the Russian team.

Rick looked over at them and smirked. "Well, well, look who decided to show up."

"Were you guys practicing being anti-social again?" Daichi said starkly.

Bryan sat down next to his red-haired captain and glared at Daichi and Rick.

"Want to get hurt?" he threatened.

Rick leaned back in his seat and smiled "Is that a challenge?"

Max shifted his eyes between the two "Hey, come on guys let's just cool it."

"Yeah, let's all calm down." Ray agreed and stared at Bryan, not forgetting what had happened two years ago during the Russian match.

"Back off, Max. Let him answer for himself." The other All-Star warned eyes still fixed on the Blitzkrieg who was still glaring.

All the other blader's were keeping silent, watching what might be a beybattle unfold in front of him or her.

"Hah! You a challenge? I bet I won't even break a sweat." The falcon laughed.

"What was that?" Rick yelled furiously and shot up from his seat.

"Bryan." Tala warned, shooting an icy glare at his teammate.

The falcon immediately went silent, still shooting a glare at the All-star. A frustrated sigh escaped from him as he turned back to his food. He couldn't disobey his captain's order.

"Coward" Rick smirked before sitting down.

Relief was felt all over the room as the tension began to die down even though Ray flashed a look of disdain towards the All-Star. Aaron and Claude were quietly talking over who would have won the non-existent match. Aaron voted on Bryan while Claude voted on Rick. The BBA Revolution had mixed feelings about the words that had just been exchanged between the different team members. Chief sighed in relief while Tyson and his partner looked pumped up. Almost as quickly as it started the tension left, and all the beybladers were back to trash talking and joking. The Blitzkrieg Boys also joined in on the trashing after a few minutes, all except for their captain, who was preoccupied with other thoughts.

Tala glanced towards Kai's empty seat, then to Brooklyn's and Mystel's. Three people left unaccounted. Kai would go off on his own all the time so it wasn't unusual, and he could definitely handle himself in any type of fight. Even with those facts in mind, the wolf couldn't shake his uneasiness. There was one more contributing factor to all the worry, and that was one simple fact proven throughout history about Kai. He wanted to beat Tyson more than any other beyblader in the room. Tala knew it and all the others knew it too. The want was so extreme it led Kai to betray all his friends more than once. The first time was for Black Dranzer, the ultimate power. The second was when he joined the Blitzkrieg Boys during the last world championships, which Tala used to his own advantage, and the third was when Boris returned with BEGA. Twice Kai had worked under Boris for the sake of dethroning the three-time world champion, and three times, he had betrayed his friends. One question was left, would there be a fourth time?

"Ming-Ming stop talking you're so annoying!" Hilary snapped.

"Aw, I think somebody's jealous." Ming-Ming teased Hilary.

"I'M NOT JEALOUS!" Hilary yelled.

The entire table went quiet and started to watch Ming-Ming and Hilary argue. Mathilda looked uneasy at the fighting between the two girls but Mariah and Julia looked like they got a kick out of it. Tyson and Daichi tried to calm Hilary down but it backfired as soon as Kenny mentioned how angelic Ming-Ming looked even when angry.

"She's not an angel! She's a devil, a devil!" Hilary yelled.

"I honestly don't know why you're here Hilary, I mean, you can't even beyblade so isn't it pointless for you to be on this trip?" Ming-Ming asked.

Hilary looked repulsed and glared at Ming-Ming. The tension started to grow once again with Ming-Ming's bluntly honest comment.

"Can't beyblade? I'll show you! Kenny! Give me Hopper!" Hilary quickly snatched Hopper and the launcher from the Chief.

"No! Hilary no!" Kenny yelled.

The other teams with the exception of BEGA and the Blitzkrieg Boys scrambled to get away from the table since they knew what happened last time Hilary launched Kenny's blade.

The mint haired diva watched all the other teams scramble away and giggled a little "Oh dear, even they fear your blading skills." She mocked.

"You'll pay for that!" Hilary launched Hopper and immediately it bounced from one end of the table to the other end, then all around the room.

This caused all the teams to take cover. The hopping blade bounced uncontrollably and almost hit a few people. Tala jumped backwards when the beyblade broke his glass, but tripped over the fallen chair and landed hard on his back. Ming-Ming screeched and Crusher stood up too fast, which made the table fall over. Kevin was flung from the table once it fell over. Hilary stood still with a shocked face at all the chaos. The commotion continued for five minutes and finally came to a stop after the sound of glass shattering.

The maids rushed in to make sure all the teens were all right. Fortunately they were. Unfortunately, the room was completely destroyed. The table had tipped over, the food and drinks spilled; the giant chandelier had shattered into a million pieces from Hopper's final bounce, everything destroyed…

"Awww…"Kevin whined as he pulled himself off the ground.

"That was a close one…" Raul laughed in relief.

Hilary stood there with a scowl, cheeks flushed; she had forgotten once again that Kenny's blade bounced, but not as if it would have made a difference, she couldn't beyblade anyway.

"She's got one heck of a launch." Ian said and stood up.

"No kidding." Bryan agreed, appearing out from under the tablecloth.

Tala sighed in irritation and sat up.

"Oh my…" a maid whispered to herself as she swept up the pieces of the broken chandelier.

Tyson and Daichi sighed in relief when they discovered they were still alive. Mathilda whimpered a little and Mariah and Julia looked at each other before looking at Hilary.

Garland offered Ming-Ming his hand and pulled her up off the ground. She huffed and started to brush herself off.

"Maybe I was wrong, you really need practice, a lot of practice." She commented.

Hilary frowned and glared at her "You just messed me up! That's all!"

"Yeah, even if she killed all of us it'd be our fault for getting in the way" Daichi muttered.

"Hilary how about you leave the beyblading up to the professionals alright?" Mariah suggested.

Hilary's face went red and she crossed her arms stubbornly. Her shoulders were shaking with rage as more and more people agreed with Ming-Ming, she couldn't beyblade and shouldn't have even tried; she shouldn't even be at the resort.

"I'm going back to my room!" She yelled tearfully and ran out of the room.

"Hilary, Wai-" Kenny tried to go stop her but she was gone in a blink of an eye.

"She shouldn't blame herself, it's not her fault she can't blade after all." Ming-Ming smiled.

"Be quiet!" Tyson snapped. "Don't talk down on her and act like you're helping! Hil wouldn't have launched it if it weren't for you! She's part of this team as much as I am! You had no right to insult her!"

"Insulting her? I was just being truthful. She can't beyblade." Ming-Ming said nonchalantly.

"Even so you didn't have to go and treat her like that!"

"What are you talking about; she's the one who ruined all our dinner." The pop diva put her hands behind her back innocently.

Tyson growled angrily.

"Is that a camera…?" Tala asked.

Ming-Ming blinked and looked over at him. All the other teams had turned their attention to the leader of the Russian team as well.

"Up there." he pointed.

The way Tala had fallen gave him a perfect view of the ceiling. Right where the chandelier use to be was a black security camera with a red light blinking near the lens. It had the perfect view of the entire dinner table.

"He's right." Ray said when he saw the camera.

"What's a camera doing hidden in a chandelier?" Max asked.

"I bet its recording our data." Emily said.

"In the dining room…?" Kenny asked.

Bryan, Ian, and Spencer all looked at each other then at the camera. Bryan glanced at Tala and thought about the conversation they had about Boris before they left. It seemed that the masked man from the abbey would never stop haunting them.

Daichi stared up at the camera blinking then he turned to one of the maids and asked what it was for.

"Oh, that's just there for security reasons." She said.

"Then why hide it?" Julia asked.

"Like I said, for security reasons." She said again.

Rick quirked an eyebrow at her. He understood hiding a camera to catch a thief but this camera was positioned right above their table. Wouldn't it make more sense to place a camera in an area where it had a wider view?

Rick looked over at everyone else and noticed the confused looks on their faces. It looked like they were catching on.

Julia frowned and looked at Raul who nodded. One look at her face and he knew they were thinking the same thing.

Tyson looked at Kenny and tilted his head. It was even suspicious to Tyson however; it had completely gone over Daichi's head. Daichi didn't waste any more thoughts on the odd positioning of the camera.

The maid stopped her work and looked at all of them "I'm terribly sorry for all this, but this room is out of commission. Tomorrow morning please go to the other dining hall, it's marked on the directory in all your rooms." She bowed.

"Something's not right here." Ray whispered to Lee who nodded.

"I'm sorry for this inconvenience." The maid apologized.

Ming-Ming nodded "It's alright it's not your fault." she smiled "we all know who's fault it is." she shot a look over at Tyson.

The look on her face infuriated the world champion. He frowned at her, knowing darn well that she was the cause for the dinner being ruined.

Soon all the beybladers cleared out of the dining hall. Tala looked back at the camera. It was pointing straight at them now, watching.

"Humph." Tala's eyes narrowed. They were all being watched. Each one of them. His gaze shifted to the portraits on the walls, the lights, the statues, and even the doorknobs. How many other cameras were there?

The Blitzkrieg Boys made it back to where their rooms were located. Tala unlocked his door and went to walk inside.

"Tala…" Spencer said.

Tala looked over his shoulder.

His three other teammates were looking at him expectantly, waiting for orders, some advice, anything from their captain.

"There's probably cameras and microphones in our rooms. It's a possibility we're being watched right now. It's definitely Boris." The wolf said quietly. "He's planning something new but I don't know what it is yet. For now just search your rooms."

Bryan, Ian, and Spencer nodded. Tala opened the door and walked into his room. Once the door closed, Bryan sighed.

"What happened last year?" Ian asked, looking up at Spencer.

"He came back with a group called BEGA and tried to control beyblading." The tall blonde explained.

"We need to put that guy out of our misery, for good." The falcon growled.

Spencer sighed, "No kidding."

Down the hall, the White Tigers were talking before dispersing into their rooms and yelling could be heard in the BBA Revolution's room. Hilary was shouting something about Ming-Ming being rude and having no right to judge people. While Tyson and Daichi tried calming her down.

"They're both equally annoying." Ian sighed, referring to Ming-Ming and Hilary.

"If she keeps up that yelling the BBA Revolution will get a noise complaint." Bryan opened the door to their room, which was located across the hall from Kai and Tala's.

Once Tala got in the room, he started snooping around, looking under the tables, beds, behind the dressers, in the lights, absolutely everywhere. After he searched everywhere, he sat on the edge of his bed and crossed his legs, sighing. There had to be a camera in there somewhere. Where would one be hidden? He thought back to the Abbey.

_Think Tala…Think. Where were they? _

He tried to picture the dark stone hallways in the Abbey. The laboratories, the holding cells, the training areas. Just thinking about the place left him in a cold sweat.

_They were in the corners where they had a wide view, they saw everything._

Tala looked skyward and scanned the ceiling and walls. Once he saw the air conditioning vent a light went off in his head. The vent above the door! It had a perfect view of the entire room. Without any second thoughts, he walked over to the door and tried to reach the vent. No good. 5'9 just wasn't tall enough. He growled in irritation.

Spencer could reach it, but Tala wasn't going to make himself look like an incompetent idiot by asking him. What was he suppose to say anyway.

_Hey Spence, I found where a camera might be in my room and I'm too short to reach it so would you mind doing it for me? You know just in case a camera's actually there._

Yeah, that'd go over well. All he needed was a goofy smile, and his name already started with a T! T for Tyson! No…To avoid that humiliation the red head walked over to the desk and grabbed the chair. He dragged it to the door and set it up under the vent. Tala climbed on top of the chair and felt around the vent and pulled on a lose corner. With one big tug, the vent came off.

In the shaft was a small black camera with a red light blinking. Tala smirked as he reached in and pulled the camera out, inspecting it.

It was a wireless camera and was most likely broadcasting live. The vent wasn't hard to get off and went back on just as easily. While they were gone, any one of the maids could replace the battery.

Tala held the camera up and looked into the lens an angry frown on his face. "Boris, I know you're the one behind all of this. I don't know what you're planning, but I'm going to find you and take you down for the last time. I'll stop you for good so you had better start running. I'm coming for you." with that, he smashed the camera onto the ground.

The force cracked the camera in two and sent multiple pieces flying all over the room. The wires inside sparked as the little red light slowly stopped blinking. After a few more sparks the camera laid there. It was nothing than a pile of plastic now.

Tala jumped down from the chair and started to move it back to it's previous position. Once it was half way across the room, Kai walked in.

"What are you doing?" The bluenette asked.

"What does it look like?" Tala continued moving the chair.

"Hn…" He picked up the pieces of the broken camera. "I thought there'd be one in here."

"You found others?"

Kai nodded and removed a bird out of his pocket and held it out for Tala to see.

The bird looked dead. It's neck was turned at an unnatural angle, it's wings were crippled, and some of it's feathers missing. The middle of the bird was cut open and revealed intricate wires and circuits.

The bird was mechanical. It would have passed for a real bird if the middle hadn't been cut open.

"Camera's disguised as very convincing animals…" Tala took it from Kai and examined it.

"That's not the only one either." Kai shook his head and walked over to his bed.

"More? How did you even find these out?"

Kai stayed silent, not acknowledging his captains question.

"Kai! How did you find this out?" Tala ordered.

Kai once again ignored him and dodged the question. "If he's going through this much trouble to use surveillance cameras to this degree who can say what he's up to."

Tala narrowed his eyes. "How. Did. You. Find. This. Out?"

"Talking slower isn't going to make me answer you."

"Then just answer me."

Kai ignored Tala again.

"Ok, now you're just doing it on purpose."

"I was training." Kai finally said and crossed his arms. "Whenever I'm training with Dranzer all the animals take the high road. They know how powerful I am so they hide, there were only a few that got too close and didn't even flinch when Dranzer came close to them."

"I don't understand why that was so difficult…" Tala sighed and looked back at the bird.

"Hn…"Kai closed his eyes and appeared deep in thought.

The red head frowned at him slightly before walking to his duffle bag. He unzipped it and started to put the bird in it but stopped. There lying on top of all his clothes and extra beyblade parts was the brown picture frame with the photograph of the red haired woman and the man in the Russian uniform. Tala stopped and lifted the frame out of the bag. It was a reminder of the way his life use to be before it all fell apart. Along with memories of the past, more questions flooded his mind.

As far as he was concerned, every staff member on the island were Boris' puppets. At any time, they could come into his room and tamper with this photograph. His personal belongings weren't safe there with him. In addition, at any time the cameras could be taken when they were asleep and new ones replaced. Tala put the frame back in the bag but near the bottom instead of on top this time. Kai opened one eye and watched him.

"I'll be back. Don't leave the room until then." Tala ordered.

Kai sighed and closed his eye.

Tala walked out into the hallway and looked around. The camera would be hidden in a place where it had full view of the hallway. The picture at the end of the hallway got his attention. Yes, since it was at the end of the hallway it viewed all the rooms. It tracked who went into the room and who came out. He walked over to the picture hanging on the wall and examined it. Something was strange about the middle of the picture. The red head reached up and carefully removed the picture frame. A small square hole was cut in the wall that the picture had hid perfectly. Sure enough, placed in the hole was yet another camera. Security reasons…as if he believed that. The thoughts started up in his head again. Tala looked at the back of the picture and there was a transparent hole.

"Huh…?" He blinked and looked at the front again, it was a normal picture from the front but the back of it was see through. A frown appeared on his face. Without further delay, he ripped the camera out of the wall and stomped on it; then put the picture frame back as if nothing had been disturbed. Luckily, the noise of the camera breaking couldn't be heard over the racket coming from the BBA Revolution's room. After further inspection of the hallway and all the cameras were found and destroyed, Tala continued to his teammate's room.

* * *

><p>Boris walked down a long flight of stairs. With each step, it got darker. When the man finally reached the bottom of the stairs, he was standing in a bleak, very dark room. The only source of light came from security screens covering a total of two walls.<p>

"Anything new?" He asked.

"Yes, we analyzed the spin pattern of the blade launched in the dining hall and of Dranzer." The man sitting at the computer said.

"Excellent. We're ahead of schedule." Boris grinned. "Hm…what's happening there?" He pointed to the center right screen.

"Oh, that must be from the early transmission." The man at the computer said.

The screen showed the BBA Revolution. Hilary was raving mad and kept punching her pillow while Tyson and Daichi stood off the side trying to calm her. In unison all their heads turned to the door. Tyson looked like he was talking to someone but the camera didn't catch who it was.

"Switch to the hallway camera." Boris ordered.

The man nodded and hit a certain button. The hall camera had nothing but static on it.

"Strange…that camera's offline…" the man said.

"Then get it online!" Boris growled.

"I'm trying to…something must be wrong with it. Hm…three other cameras have gone offline as well."

Boris looked back at the center right screen. Tyson's face took up the entire screen now. He had found the camera. The world champion looked shocked then turned to whoever was at the door. Suddenly the camera was thrown onto the ground. Hilary was pointing and yelling at it and Daichi crawled next to the camera. The last thing transmitted from that camera was the wild child's curious face then static.

"Sir, I got something." A woman at one of the other computers said. "This has been recorded minutes before the hallway camera went offline." She explained and played the recording back. It showed Tala removing the vent and finding the camera. Boris' eyes narrowed.

Tala looked into the camera, a frown on his face. "Boris, I know you're the one behind all of this. I don't know what you're planning, but I'm going to find you and take you down for the last time. I'll stop you for good so you had better start running. I'm coming for you." the camera went offline and Boris was staring at nothing but static.

Boris laughed as he stared at the white noise. "So, Tala's catching on is he?"

"Should we apprehend him sir?" The woman asked.

"No, there's no need. There's nothing Tala and his friends could possibly do to stop us. He's acting just as I planned him too. Let's not stray from the schedule we don't want any unnecessary problems." Boris explained and clasped his hands behind his back. "Even if they all band together they still won't have enough power. Now, we need to advance into Stage 2 before the dear Mr. Dickenson realizes they're gone." Boris smirked. Tala's message didn't rattle him in the least. There was no way Tala, Kai, Brooklyn or even Tyson could bring him down, that he was sure of.

"Proceed with the plans!" He ordered before walking out of the room.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, well there you go. hope you all enjoyed it.<strong>

**review!**


	6. Disturbance

**Once again, Sorry for the lack of updates. Not gonna lie all your wonderful comments inflated my ego lol. Anyway, I hope all of you will be pleased with this next chapter, I had writer's block like crazy. Now, there will be a few errors in this chapter as far as grammar goes. I was sort of in a rush to upload it. So, hope you enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Kenny sat on the edge of his bed typing away. Hilary stood near the corner facing away from everyone, still embarrassed about dinner. Daichi sat Indian style on the floor while Tyson sat in one of the chairs staring at Dragoon.<p>

"So that guy Boris is behind this too? Man, doesn't he ever go away?" Daichi asked and looked at Kenny.

"He's relentless that's for sure…but there's obviously something he wants to accomplish." the chief sighed.

Hilary huffed and sat on the bed, her bangs over her eyes "I bet Ming-Ming's in on it."

"Hilary just let it go." Kenny sighed.

Tyson continued staring down at his Dragoon beyblade, deep in thought. He honestly wasn't listening to his friends' conversation.

_The first day I met Boris… _He thought.

He thought back to the first day in Russia. The Bladebreakers were completely lost. The only one who was able to read the map was Kai and they came across the Abbey. Boris seemed like an innocent monestary man. The one boy Tyson defeated got dragged away by two sinister looking guards. From that moment on, Boris proved to be a shady person. The Abbey Boris owned had an impressive security system for nothing but an Abbey. Motion detectors, spotlights, more like a prison or a boot camp honestly. When the Bladebreakers got too close to the doors, that's when Tala and Ian blocked their path.

Tyson sighed and put his Dragoon back in the pouch on his arm. Everyone who came into contact with Boris seemed to suffer. Kai never smiled and had problems getting close to people, Ian was a troublemaker, Bryan tried to destroy Ray, Spencer never talked and Tala was a sarcastic brat with sadistic tendencies, at least that's how they use to be.

"We need to put Boris away for good." Daichi pouted.

"It's lucky Tala found those cameras. We didn't even think to look for any others." Kenny nodded. "Well…what should we do about it now?"

"It's obvious we have to take Boris down!" Daichi yelled.

"If you have any plans on how we do that Daichi I'm listening…" Tyson looked at him.

The wild child looked at his partner in disbelief. "Our plan is too take him down!"

"Oh man." Hilary put her hand over her face.

"So far it's just cameras watching us, how can we be sure it's actually Boris?" Kenny asked.

"Chief are you serious?" Daichi yelled.

"Yeah have you lost it?" Tyson asked.

The chief waved his hands "No, no I'm just thinking about it. I'm not saying Boris is innocent but so far we have no evidence he's behind it at all. We just know there are cameras keeping tabs on us. I'll admit it's suspicious and Boris may be involved but it's odd to invite all the teams here to a resort. Tyson, you yourself saw the training rooms, and all the staff members here don't act strange. Why would he have all of us come here to train?"

Hilary looked at him and put her hands on her hips "That is a good point." she said

"Huh…?" Tyson blinked "Arhg no! Tala wouldn't say its Boris unless he was positive!"

Daichi nodded "Yeah, he was the one who knew Boris was planning something at the world championships when Barthez showed up!"

Kenny nodded "True…"

"So we need to find out his plan!" Daichi interrupted, slamming his fist in the palm of his hand.

"Should we talk to Tala about it?" Tyson asked.

Kenny was quiet "He does seem to know more about Boris and his plans than we do. Maybe we should talk to the Barthez Battalion and BEGA too, after all they were involved with Boris."

Tyson nodded.

Hilary looked like she was thinking and had her finger to her lips. "You know, maybe we should find a way to contact Mr. Dickenson. We can ask him if this is really set by the BBA. Remember the last time we were all trapped on an island."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that…But that was different. After all those guys were after our Bit-beasts and sent out beybladers to challenge us." the champion nodded.

"But we were kidnapped. We were invited here to train before the world championships started by the BBA." Kenny added.

"I'm telling you guys we need to find Boris and take him down." Daichi said again.

* * *

><p>Brooklyn laid in the grass and stared up at the night sky. All the stars twinkled against the darkness. This really beat what the sky looked like in the city. A light wind blew and rustled the trees and long blades of grass. Brooklyn inhaled the fresh air and sighed, perfectly contented. He missed dinner but didn't care. Being outside was way better than being stuffed in a room with all the other teams, no matter how big the room might be.<p>

He opened his eyes at the sound of a chirping bird. He tilted his head up and there on a rock was a Blue Jay watching him. A smile crossed the BEGA blader's face as he sat up and held his hand out to it. When he got to close the Blue Jay flew away. Brooklyn watched it with a puzzled face. Birds didn't usually fly away from him.

"Hm…well it's getting cold now." Brooklyn sighed and stood up. He suddenly stopped when he heard footsteps behind him.

A girl was standing a few feet away from him. She wore a black skin tight suit with the texture of snake skin, white shorts, white boots, and a sleeveless white and bluejacket that clipped closed at her throat. Her hair was cropped short and a pale blue color with a shiny black head band holding it back. Additionally, she had pale milky colored eyes that lacked life. She looked like she was mindless.** (Note: this is not an OC. This is for the sake of story production) **

Brooklyn turned his head slightly and looked at the girl "Do you need something?" he asked in his usual calm manner.

The girl got into a launching position. On her right arm was an automatic launcher with a pale blue beyblade ready to battle.

Brooklyn turned around to face her and cocked his head to the side. "Huh? You want to battle?" he asked.

The girl didn't respond and stood there.

When he saw talking would be useless he got into his launching position with his crossbow style launcher.

_She must be from one of the other teams _He thought, even though he had never seen her before he figured she had to belong to one of the teams on the island. Maybe she was an unknown like the Barthez Battalion use to be.

* * *

><p>Garland stood at the large window in his hotel room, watching the wildlife outside. The other window was open wide and Mystel was sitting rather relaxed in it. Ming-Ming was pacing around the room while Crusher watched her.<p>

"Maybe we should go look for Brooklyn." She suggested.

"It's not like this is unusual Ming-Ming." Garland said. "Brooklyn always likes to lie in the grass; he'll come back here when it gets cold enough."

"I know but Garland; if Boris is behind all this then he could be in danger outside all by himself." the diva insisted.

"I think Brooklyn will be just fine, let's not get ourselves all worked up just because Boris was mentioned all right?" he looked back at her.

Ming-Ming looked up at him with a pout. "Yeah I guess you're right, but I'm still worried about him being out there all alone."

"Sorry Garland but I'm with Ming-Ming on this one. Boris may go after whoever is alone." Crusher sighed.

Mystel nodded.

"He'd be an idiot to go after someone as strong as Brooklyn." The long-haired blader reasoned.

"But since its Boris we really don't know what he might do." Mystel put his arms behind his head.

Garland was quiet then looked back at him teammates. He thought back to the BEGA match and how he couldn't be there when Brooklyn really needed him. The silver-haired blader sighed and nodded "We'll wait another five minutes then go out and look for him."

* * *

><p>"Three…Two…" the girl started talking.<p>

"One. Let it rip!" Brooklyn yelled and launched his beyblade.

The girl's pale blue beyblade started attacking Brooklyn's without hesitation.

A smile appeared on his face. This girl was incredibly weak; her blade kept getting deflected off Zeus.

"Looks like you need more practice." He smiled cockily.

The blue haired girl stood there, emotionless, as her beyblade attacked. Zeus once again but bounced off it.

"This is getting embarrassing…Zeus! Finish her!" He demanded.

Once Zeus slammed into her blade it was deflected.

Brooklyn's smile disappeared "Huh…?" he made Zeus attack her blade again but it bounced off just the same.

"Not as weak as I thought…" He nodded to himself and looked at the blue haired girl. "Got a name? I should atleast know who I'm battling."

The blue haired girl didn't say anything and sent her beyblade right at his again. It continued back and fourth with her blade deflecting off Brooklyn's and vice versa.

"This is boring…" the BEGA blader yawned. "There is no outcome of this match…unless I finish it."

The girl without a personality didn't say anything and her beyblade kept attacking.

Brooklyn stood there, when the boredom was too extreme to handle he called on his bit-beasts finishing move. King of Darkness.

The female blader's eyes sparked and she raised her hand. A bright light shot from her beyblade and cut through Brooklyn's attack.

The light illuminated everything in its path. It consumed the darkness leaving no shadows. The darkness could not hide.

Brooklyn shut his eyes tight then shielded them with his arm. "Ah!" he yelled.

Mystel looked dumbfounded when he saw the bright light from the hotel window.

"What's that…?" He asked.

His teammates turned their heads and ran over to the window. The light kept growing and illuminated the sky. For a brief moment, night had turned to day. The sky was a bright blue, but as the light died down the night stars returned.

"That's strange." Ming-Ming nodded.

"I've changed my mind. We need to find Brooklyn. Now." Garland ran to the door. Ming-Ming and Crusher followed while Mystel jumped from the window legde.

Ray, after seeing the sky, walked out into the hallway and saw Garland.

"Did you see that too?" The White Tiger asked.

The silver haired blader stopped and nodded.

The other teams had stuck their heads out the door and watched Ray and Garland curiously.

"That was really strange." Mariah stepped next to Ray.

"Do you think it might have something to do with Boris?" Max asked.

Garland shook his head "I don't know, but Brooklyn hasn't come back yet."

"Yeah, we're really worried about him." Ming-Ming nodded.

The BBA Revolution all exchanged looks.

"You mean he's still out there?" Tyson asked.

The Blitzkrieg Boys were watching them from their rooms in the back of the hall. It could've been nothing, but given the situation it was most likely something.

"Humph…Even Kai came limping back home." Tala smirked at Kai.

Kai frowned and closed his eyes "Funny…" he said sarcastically.

"We have to find him before something bad happens." Crusher said.

"Then what are we waiting for let's go get 'em!" Daichi yelled enthusiastically and ran off.

Tyson nodded "Yeah why are we just standing here? Come on let's hurry up and find him."

"I'll go too." Ray nodded, quickly following. Mariah and Lee were right behind him.

Max decided it would be best to go along too, especially if Boris was involved. Rick wasn't about to let Max have all the fun so he followed along as well.

Tala stood in the doorway for a while and finally decided to go too. Seeing the night sky light up like that wasn't natural. All the teams invited were all in their rooms with one person gone: Brooklyn. Everyone knew Brooklyn had dark powers, not light. If anything, his attack would make the sky darker if that was possible.

Atleast two members from every team followed The BBA Revolution and BEGA on a quest to find the missing blader. Hilary stayed behind to watch the room for her team while the other team members stayed to watch their team's room. Julia was watching over BEGA's room while Raul was watching over their own.

"Boris was the man Barthez was working for." Claude said to Aaron who only nodded.

"It makes you wonder why we're all here…its scary when you think about it." Aaron said.

His teammate nodded and looked out the door at the hallway.

* * *

><p>Bryan was lying on Tala's bed and was staring up at the ceiling.<p>

"Figured that creep would be back…"Ian said as he fiddled with his launcher.

"No kidding. I don't think I like what he has planned." Spencer agreed.

"The guy just won't leave us alone, can't he take the hint?" Bryan scowled and sat up. "His plans don't work, we smash them each time and we're going to smash them this time!"

Spencer nodded. "We already found the cameras so we're at an advantage. He can't sneak up on us."

The other Blitzkriegs nodded in agreement.

"I hate just talking about it…" Bryan sighed. "I want to find him and take him out already."

* * *

><p>Garland looked around the forest; there was a very cold wind that blew now. "I'm sure I saw it come from around here." He said.<p>

Tyson was behind him looking around and Kenny held his laptop to his chest, whimpering.

"Hey, there's Mystel!" Ming-Ming called.

In the distance they could make out Mystels's spikey blonde hair and colorful clothing. He was kneeling down and going through something on the ground.

The other teens ran over to him quickly.

"Mystel what's the matter?" Crusher asked.

Ming-Ming walked up to him and bent down to look at whatever Mystel was looking at.

Mystel stood up and showed them a completely shattered black beyblade. It was completely disintegrated. There was no way to rebuild it; it was practically reduced to sand.

"Whoa…" Max blinked when he saw the remains.

"That's amazing…is-er…was that a beyblade at some point?" Daichi asked.

Garland's eyes widened. _What in the world could have destroyed a metal beyblade into that many small pieces? What could have done that to Zeus? _

"I've never seen anything like this before…"Ray said and Lee nodded.

Miguel frowned and looked around "Okay, so if that's his beyblade where is he?"

Garland stood up and looked around once more. All that could be seen were trees and darkness.

Tala and Kai walked closer to get a better look of the broken pieces.

One look and Kai's eyes widened. All his color drained from him and he was as pale as a ghost. His body broke out in a cold sweat. There was only one beyblade he knew in existence that had so much power. The power to reduce a beyblade to ash…

"Kai? …Kai? Kai!"

Kai snapped out of it and looked at the others who all had their eye on him, except Tala.

"Hey bud, you ok?" Tyson asked, concerned.

The two-tone haired blader frowned and his bangs covered his eyes. "Mhm…"

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Ray said.

"A ghost? Where?" Kenny yelled.

The chief looked around frantically. He was still holding his laptop to his chest and his legs were shaking.

"Hey chief get a hold of yourself." Daichi shook him by the shoulders "There's no ghost!"

"Ehehe…right, sorry everyone I don't know what came over me…" Chief sighed.

"You need to relax dude…" Rick sighed.

"Yeah, yeah I know…sorry I just can't take this pressure." he cried.

"Looks like Kai can't either." Tyson joked.

Kai twitched as he was looking at the pieces then his eyes shifted over to his red-haired captain who looked just as tense.

The same thing that went through Kai's mind was now going through Tala's. Everyone else sounded like they were in a panic trying to figure out if it was Brooklyn's beyblade. Of coarse it was. How stupid could they all be? They were all just in denial. Kenny ran a search through his laptop and nodded. It was confirmed that the beyblade was the missing bladers.

"How can you tell?" Garland asked.

"I took a picture of the remains and it was able to reconstruct what the beyblade use to look like, although it's only a rough sketch so then it matched the base points with a beyblade in my database and…" the chief turned the laptop around and revealed a picture of Brooklyn and his beyblade, along with his stats.

"We need to be searching for Brooklyn." Mathilda looked at Miguel, then back at everyone else. "It's scary, I mean, his beyblade is completely destroyed and he's nowhere near here! We're wasting time!"

"She's right, we need to keep looking. We wanted to find him after all." Mariah looked around.

"Oh…Brooklyn…" Ming-Ming sighed worriedly.

"Can you tell if the bit is still there?" Tala asked.

"The bit?" Rick asked. "Hard to tell in that mess."

Kai frowned and looked at Tala. He opened his mouth to say something but a snapping noise from behind caught his attention. He turned around quickly and stared into the darkness hugging the trees. For a moment he thought he saw something swiftly move behind a tree. The blunette scowled and took off running towards it.

"Kai! Where are you going?" Tyson yelled and took off after him "Wait!"

"Tyson!" Kenny yelled.

Daichi had already taken off after Tyson. Max couldn't help himself and ran off, followed by Ray.

Tala went after Kai too but took a few seconds to scan the area for some sort of hint of Boris' plan. He felt like it was staring him in his face, that it was so close.

Once Ray had taken off Mariah tried to run after her but Lee grabbed her shoulder.

"No, Mariah. We need to look for Brooklyn."

Kenny looked nervous "Oh what if that's Boris plan?"

"There's no way Boris can take on all six of them." Miguel said. "Boris might be trying to lure us away from this spot."

The others nodded in agreement and decided to let Kai, Tyson, Daichi, Max, Ray and Tala go off on their own. They took comfort in the fact all six of them were amazing beybladers, however it was very little comfort. Brooklyn was missing and his blade was in pieces, that fact alone left all of them trembling.

* * *

><p>"Kai wait up!" Tyson yelled.<p>

"Where is he going anyway?" Max asked Ray as they ran.

"No idea." The White Tiger responded.

Kai's eyes were set ahead. He jumped through the bushes and was on the edge of a wide open field. The tall crab grass undulated with the wind. Whatever he was chasing was completely gone now.

The blunette growled "Where did they go?"

"Finally, you stopped." Tyson caught up to him and was out of breath.

Tala walked up next to Kai and looked around at the trees and the clear field. "What did you see?" he asked.

"Back where Brooklyn's beyblade was found, someone was watching us." Kai breathed.

"The other blader." The red head nodded and crossed his arms.

"So where is Brooklyn…?" Ray said, out of breath.

Kai didn't answer them and was staring at the grass field intensely. He still believed something was there. Which he was correct. The blue haired girl was ducking down in the field, still watching. Her eyes shifted between them.

"Good. You can see them but they can't see you." Boris said into a headset.

The female heard him loud and clear in her head and just nodded.

Boris looked up at the multiple screens, he saw his old BEGA team still looking around for Brooklyn, then through another screen he saw through the girl's eyes. A smirk appeared on his face as he beheld his next targets.

The girl slightly raised her arm to get her automatic launcher ready.

"No, no, not yet." Boris said. "I'm very eager as well, but now is not the time."

The girl nodded and lowered her arm. Her eyes still set on Kai.

Kai frowned and started to walk into the grassy field. The shadow he was chasing…there was no way it just vanished. He knew it was there…somewhere.

When Kai stepped into the field, Tala followed, then Max…etc.

"Do you think it's possible we just missed him? Maybe he's already back at the hotel." Max suggested.

Tyson blinked and looked back at him "But if he was wouldn't we run into him?"

"Maybe he took a different path." The blonde shrugged.

"Yeah…I guess" Tyson nodded.

Ray took a breath and was finally breathing normally "But what about his beyblade?"

"It's waaaay too damaged to be repaired." Max nodded.

"Is that why you were asking about the Bit, Tala?" the white tiger asked.

Tala looked back at them "No. You're in denial Max. Camera's in the dining room and in all our rooms? The invitation, that strange light…Brooklyn missing, his beyblade destroyed, and you think it's all just a coincidence?"

The others went quiet. Tala was right…no matter how they tried to justify it it didn't change.

The girl in the grass was backing up slowly. Her prey was getting closer. Boris' words echoed in her mind. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet.

"Well, it doesn't look like anyone's here…"Max said as he looked around.

Ray didn't say anything and Daichi seemed to hear something.

"Anyone else hear…rustling?" The wild child whispered.

"Rustling…?" Tyson blinked.

Tala's eyes narrowed as Kai frowned. All of them heard it. Infront of them blades of grass were moving as if something was crawling through it.

"I guess…something is here…" Max whispered.

The girl was crawling backwards in the grass, trying to avoid them but it was too late. They were all aware of her presents now. As Kai took a step closer the female stood, revealing herself.

Tyson jumped then frowned at her "Are you the other blader who destroyed Zeus?" He ordered.

The girl stood there, staring at them for a while.

Not yet. Not yet. The voice in her head told her.

"Oh the silent treatment huh?" Tyson frowned.

Ray stepped in front of Tyson "Where's Brooklyn?" he demanded.

The girl turned around and took of running.

"Hey!" Tyson yelled and started to run after her.

The others also started chasing her, a few moments later they realized. It could have been a trap!

Daichi took his beyblade out and launched it at some trees up ahead.

"Great cutter!" He yelled. Swiftly and accurately the beyblade cut through the trees then returned to his hand.

The trees he hit fell down and blocked the girl's path.

"Nice one Daichi!" Tyson smiled.

The girl stood silently.

"Ok, now you have no choice but to answer our questions!" Tyson pointed at her.

"You're working for Boris aren't you?" Tala asked.

Silence.

Max frowned "Listen, whatever Boris promised you…it's not worth what he's making you do."

This provoked a response. The girl turned around and stared at them. "How would you know?" She asked coldly.

"Because I've been there." Tala said. "He makes promises he never keeps. In return he expects you to throw away everything for his own ambition."

"Then it's fair." She said bluntly.

"What?" The wolf frowned "You've got to be kidding me."

"Boris does me a favor, so now I do him a favor. As for your friend…Don't worry, you'll all meet him very soon." She said in another cold tone.

"What do you mean by that?" Daichi frowned "Quit playing games and tell us what you did with him!"

"I will free all of them from you." She frowned and raised her hand. There was another bright light that blew the trees out of her way.

Tyson jumped back and put his arm over his eyes "What the-!"

Kai looked away and closed his eyes tight.

The sky was once again illuminated.

Once the light disappeared they all frantically looked ahead. The trees blocking the path were completely destroyed and the girl was gone.

Daichi was rubbing his eyes "Man…that was powerful!"

"No kidding…" Max nodded. "We found the one who battled Brooklyn at least."

"Yeah but we didn't find him…" Ray sighed.

"You guys saw that light come out of her hand didn't you?" Tyson asked, bewildered at the power he just witnessed.

"Yeah…" the blonde nodded.

Tala rubbed his eyes and winced when he looked up. His gaze shifted over to the pathway, a frown plastered on his face.

Kai had a determined look. That girl was powerful that was for sure. An overwhelming urge to challenge her came over his body.

Tala noticed the look on Kai's face. The same thoughts about Kai's mysterious alligence tugged at him once again.

"What do you do now…?" Max asked.

"Take down Boris!" Daichi yelled.

Tyson shook his head and sighed "Great…"

"What do you think she meant when she said she'd "free them all" and that she owed Boris a favor?" Ray seemed curious.

"I can only imagine…" Tala looked disgusted.

"We're not going to find Brooklyn tonight." Kai said and started walking back the way they came. "We might as well go back to the hotel and inform the others."

"But Kai! Brooklyn might still be out here! We should keep looking!" Tyson yelled.

"If you want to keep looking go ahead and do it but you're an idiot if you think Brooklyn is still out here." Kai said bluntly.

Tala crossed his arms and looked back at the pathway, thinking of what to do. Going back to the hotel seemed like the best plan. From there they could decide what to do, how to contact someone outside the island for help.

"We'll go back to the hotel. From there we can fill everyone in on what happened here and make a plan from there. Staying out here any longer will bring us closer to getting out blades destroyed and who knows what else." Tala nodded "If we split up and look it'd be like lambs to the slaughter."

"If we could only find Boris…" Daichi put his fists together "That dude is so going to be toast when I get a hold of him."

"Tala…I've been meaning to ask you about Boris…" Tyson said and looked at the red-head. "I think you're hiding some information from us."

"You may be right about that." Tala glanced at Tyson before walking in the same direction as Kai.

"Ray! There you are!" Mariah's voice rang out as she and Lee ran up to Ray.

"Ray, thank goodness you're all right." Lee nodded.

"What do you mean…?" Ray blinked.

"Didn't you see that light?" Lee asked.

"Oh, that." He sighed.

Kenny frantically ran up to Tyson and Daichi "Are you guys ok? Did you see it too?"

"Relax chief." Daichi waved it off "It was just a stupid light. We're fine."

"So what happened?" Garland asked. "Did you see Brooklyn…?"

"No…no luck…you?"

Garland shook his head.

"We're going back to the hotel." Tala said and looked back at them "I'll fill you in on what I know about Boris." he said.

The other teams looked at each other, they did have so many questions, and each one of them knew what Boris was capable of. Forming a game plan to counter Boris' was the best…especially since Brooklyn was most likely in his grasp.

"Oh Brooklyn where are you…" Ming-Ming sighed "I hope You're ok…"

"We'll find him Ming-Ming." Crusher put his hand on her shoulder.

Once they made it back to the hotel the rest of their teams bombarded them with questions. So far, that hallway was the only place they knew didn't have camera's and was big enough to accommodate all the teams present. Later, they would find a bigger, more secure room to all talk in but for now this would have to do.

The teams gathered around near the back of the hall with someone at the far end watching for any spies.

"So Tala, what do you know?" Tyson asked.

"Basically, Boris isn't going to give up until he gets what he wants, that's a given. The girl blader we saw today is obviously another one of his puppets. Bringing us all here and going after Brooklyn…he's trying to take out the strongest beyblade first." Tala explained. "I think finding the camera's made him go into a panic so he had to move things ahead. Another thing I noticed his plans all have something to do with us out of the picture."

"Us out of the picture? How do you mean?" Emily asked.

"The BIOVOLT corporation. They were manufacturing there own Bit-beasts from already living creatures. Then he had us take all of your bit-beasts in hopes of enslaving all the beasts to gain control of everything. He went to some great lengths to try and connect the human spirit to the beasts spirit for ultimate power."

The others were looking at him with disbelief, shock, disgust, and anger.

"We each had a part in his expiriments." Bryan nodded "We were nothing than his lab rats, disposable if we stopped performing according to plan."

Mathilda pulled her eyebrows together and looked at the rest of her team, that's exactly what Barthez had done to them.

"Each one of us had a different purpose in his plot." Ian said. "Spencer was training to be physically strong enough to act as a vessel for all the Bit-beasts, Bryan would destroyed the beyblade as well as the blader to make sure they would never be a threat again. I was suppose to be the decoy to put on a dog and pony show and encourage people to challenge us. Kai was suppose to be an unstoppable war machine."

"And Tala…?" Max asked.

"I was the one who would link my spirit to the Bit-beasts." The red-head explained.

"Why didn't you guys just leave?" Rick reasoned "Anyone could have seen that would have been a better choice."

"No. It wouldn't." Tala said bluntly. "We had nowhere else to go, at a dead end. Boris showed up and promised to make us champions…but he didn't mean it. He wanted an army, soldiers, he couldn't care less about our situation. He'll blackmail, threatened, and manipulate you in anyway he can to get you to stay. After his plans with Barthez failed he moved on to the BEGA league. He conned Brooklyn and the others just as he did us."

Garland nodded "Yeah…he's right."

Everyones attention shifted to Garland. "Boris promised I'd be a champion. He used Crusher's sister to get to him…then when we were dedicated he turned on us."

"He was never with you to begin with." Spencer shrugged.

"With BIOVOLT, Barthez, and BEGA all failed plans there's only one thing he could do. Get rid of the things standing in his way. All of us. It was Tyson who beat me and who made Miguel second guess Barthez and who defeated Brooklyn." The wolf said.

"So then if it's my fault why are all of us here?" The champion asked.

"We're not…The Majestics aren't here." Tala said bluntly.

Tyson blinked and looked around.

Tala was right, not once had The Majestics appeared. Not during the plane or boat ride, and not at dinner.

"His beef is with all of us." Tala said. "The Majestics were never part of any fight with Boris. Only us, everyone sitting here right now."

Garland frowned "So he got Brooklyn first because he's one of the strongest bladers!"

"So wouldn't that mean he'd try to take out Tyson?" Julia asked.

"Julia's right, the strongest blader here is Tyson so why did Brooklyn go first?"

Kai's eye twitched before he looked at all of them. "He knows that Tyson fights with all of us. That he's not alone in his fights. He'll be taking out the strongest beyblade first then everyone else, leaving only Tyson to fight alone."

"That dirty low-down…" Lee growled.

"Well I'd like to see him try it!" Daichi yelled "We've already beaten him once we can do it again!"

"I don't care if he goes after me but going after my friends is unforgivable." Tyson frowned.

"So then…Brooklyn may really be gone?" Garland looked at Tala.

"Boris knows Brooklyn's strong…He's not the type who will waste someone's talent. If we do happen to see Brooklyn before the end of this…well…" Tala trailed off.

Garland gritted his teeth together.

All that was left to do was decide how to fight back against Boris. They were on his turf now, an island crafted entirely by him. He had a huge advantage over them. After some more conversation about the mysterious female blader they caught running away from the scene, they all decided no one was to be alone. A beyblader had to be accompanied by one or more team members, atleast until Boris was caught or if Mr. Dickenson came to their rescue. As long as they were there, they would dedicate that time to weakening Boris any way they could, well knowing that once they were gone he would weasel his way to power once more.

* * *

><p>The blue haired girl threw open the double doors and walked up to Boris's desk.<p>

"Why did you show them your power Artemis?" He asked angrily.

She slammed her open hand down on his desk. When she removed it there was the Bit with the picture of Zeus on it.

"I didn't. It was the only way to escape without showing my power." Artemis said.

"I suggest you don't talk back to me Artemis."

"I suggest _you _treat me with respect. I'm keeping my promise to you, Boris."

"And I will keep mine to you…" He smirked and slid the Bit over to him.

"You may be giving me the orders but don't forget it's me who has control over you. Without me this would not be possible. It's like you said, helping each other out. You give me what I want I give you what you want."

"Of coarse, I wouldn't dream of anything else…Thank you." He nodded and looked up at her.

Artemis nodded and turned her back to him and started to walk out. "Has the human arrived?"

"Yes, He was dropped off a few minutes ago." Boris said.

She nodded and closed the double doors behind her.

Boris smiled and pushed a button on his phone. It dialed a number automatically.

"How's he doing?" He asked.

"Sedated" a droning voice said on the other end.

"Excellent, I'll be sending Zeus to you now." Boris said and hung up.

* * *

><p><strong>Anonymous reviews welcome.<strong>

**Ok honestly I feel like this chapter is a little slow...Like I dropped the ball but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway! I really really do!**


	7. Sign

**PLEASE READ! Sorry guys, My older brother passed away feb 4th 2012 at only 29 years old. I was the one who found him and i've had trouble with inspiration. To make it up to you guys I am going to update as much as possible.**

**ANONYMOUS REVIEWS WELCOME! PLEASE REVIEW! I NEED INSPIRATION!**

* * *

><p>By the time morning came all relaxation and excitement was gone. Each beyblader was bursting with emotions of fear, anger, and distress. Everyone was hesitant to eat the food for breakfast and kept flashing back to Brooklyn's empty seat. As the maids and butlers casually walked around doing certain jobs the tension got higher and higher. A thought was going through each of their minds. How many of the servants were in on it? Were they oblivious to it all…? Knowing Boris they were probably real maids and butlers and only a handful of them were in on it. That day, they weren't going to waste their time hanging around with all the camera's…they were going to try to phone Mr. Dickenson and while waiting for salvation, search the island.<p>

They split up into two groups. The first group searched the hotel while the second group searched the island for anything they could find. They didn't know what to look for but they started looking.

The first group had:

Ray

Mariah

Raul

Daichi

Kenny

Rick

Garland

Tala

Kai

Claude

The second group had everyone else with the exception of Hilary and Mathilda who were upstairs watching over the rooms. Daichi had jokingly suggested giving Hilary Kenny's beyblade in case she needed to scare anyone off. He got a very hard punch to the head and was rubbing it the entire time he searched, mumbling something.

Garland looked under tables, behind paintings, in the potted plants, anywhere that a camera could be hidden. His mind kept traveling back to Brooklyn. He regretted ever getting involved with Boris in the first place all it did was bring everlasting trouble…or so it seemed.

"Man, I can't believe I'm stuck in here searching for cameras." Rick sounded disgusted.

"It's not like we have a choice you know. If we're being watched Boris will see us coming." Mariah shrugged.

"Whatever, I just know when I get my hands on Boris it'll be lights out for him."

Mariah rolled her eyes a little and kept searching for cameras.

"If I was a camera….where would I be…?" Daichi asked himself aloud and pulled up one of the rugs.

"They're not going to be under the rug Daichi…" Raul sighed.

"How will we know unless we look?"

"They'd get stepped on!"

"Not if they're hidden well enough! I mean, YOU didn't think to look under the rug. There could be a camera there we missed!" Daichi yelled.

Everyone just sighed as if they shouldn't be surprised…it was Daichi after all.

Kenny sensed the tension and tried to laugh it off. "Well you have to hand it to him. He is being thorough."

"They'd be hidden in a place with wide views." Tala explained.

"What do you mean wide views?" Claude asked.

"Places that can see the entire hallway, around corners, places where you could see just about anything- and they'd be disguised."

Claude nodded and looked at the corners where the ceiling and walls met. Before long, he looked up at the ceiling.

"What about the lights?"

"That's a good idea. One was hidden in the chandelier in the dining room after all. Claude, can you give me a boost up?" Ray walked over to Claude who boosted him up on his shoulders.

Mariah looked worried and told Ray to be careful and not fall over.

Ray sat on Claude's shoulder, reached up to the light, and took the protective glass off. He winced at the light and tried not to look directly at it.

"See anything?" Garland asked.

"No, not really."

Footsteps were heard around the corner

"Someone's coming!" Kenny yelled "We're busted!"

"Chief, be quiet!" Daichi yelled.

"Ray, get-"

Right in the middle of Mariah's sentence Ray lost balance and fell backwards, bring Claude down with him. They both landed with a large thud. Mariah rushed over to help Ray up while Rick pulled Claude to his feet.

A maid appeared around the corner and blinked. She thought they all looked incredibly guilty of something but Tala and Kai had the calmest expression. They were able to assure the maid nothing was wrong. After some time the maid nodded.

"Mr. Kai Hiwatari?" She finally asked.

Kai looked at her "Who's asking?"

"You have a phone call, follow me to the front desk please." she said and turned around.

Kai stared after her a while and thought about not going…but the curiosity was too much. It overwhelmed him. Maybe it was the girl from yesterday? He then followed the maid.

Tala frowned a little and looked at the others "Keep looking." he ordered then followed Kai at a distance.

"Heh…who made him president?" Rick scoffed.

"He's right though, we can't put everything on hold." Ray said and glanced back at the lights. "There wasn't one hidden in that one…"

* * *

><p>Kai walked to the front desk and the woman handed him the phone. Then left to give him privacy. Once she did, Tala walked up next to his teammate and asked who was on the phone. Kai ignored him and pressed the phone to his ear. After a few seconds Kai's eyes widened then he frowned.<p>

"Kai who is it?" Tala asked again.

Kai ignored him and turned his back on the wolf who in turn, frowned more.

"What do you want?" The phoenix asked into the phone, hostility in his voice.

Tala couldn't quite make out the words on the phone so he stepped closer and pushed up against the other side of the phone, trying to listen. This made Kai glare and push him away. Kai obviously didn't like having Tala there listening to the conversation.

The wolf scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"And what will you do if I won't?" Kai asked into the phone.

"I know you will Kai. It's something you won't be able to resist. It's what you and I share." Kai heard the voice say.

"I'm nothing like you…"

"Oh but you are…You still want to beat Tyson don't you? Hehe…face it. You're weak because you refuse to take the steps to get to the highest plain! You're your own enemy Kai; you stand in your own way!"

Kai bit his lip while his bangs shadowed his eyes. "You're wrong…."

"Kai…? Who is it?" Tala asked.

"Awww, that must be Tala…there's someone who I found promising, he was willing to take the steps to achieve his goal but he failed. He was too weak, but not you Kai, you're different…you have the strength but what you lack is the resolve!" the voice said.

"I know…what I want…" Kai gritted his teeth. "Don't tell me what I am or what I'm not…"

"I will help you Kai."

"You're not doing this for me!" he yelled.

"I'll help you out, if you help me out." the voice said.

Tala had got closer once again, this time Kai hadn't noticed so did not push him away. Tala could hear the voice and barely make out the words.

Kai's expression got quieter, and now there was a burning look of determination in his eyes as he listened to the voice on the phone. Tala listened carefully too and could hear some sort of directions being told to his teammate. The wolf had heard this voice before; it was too familiar to him and made his stomach turn.

When the other line clicked, Kai slammed the phone down and Tala took a step back. He was looking seriously at the two-toned haired teen who glared back at him.

"We have cameras to find…" Kai said and walked passed Tala, bumping his shoulder a little.

"Kai…who was that?" Tala demanded and looked at him.

Kai ignored him and kept walking.

"Kai!" Tala snapped "This is the last time I'm asking. Who. Was. That?"

"Wrong number."

The wolf frown and felt like a blood vessel was going to burst or something. He wasn't going to get anything out of Kai…he had clammed up completely. Instead of yelling or making a scene, Tala followed him and decided to keep his eye on his teammate for a while.

* * *

><p>The first group of beybladers had split up into groups of two and three to search the island. None of them were able to come up with anything…so they met each other near sundown. They did however investigate the trees the mysterious female blader damaged.<p>

"It was right here." Tyson said and showed the others.

"Yeah, the light just came out of her hand." Max said.

"How can that even be possible?" Miguel asked and walked closer to the tree broken in half.

Bryan was already looking at some scattered pieces of wood on the ground. His eyes narrowed. He recognized it…Some pieces were disintegrated like Brooklyn's beyblade while others were just broken.

Spencer glanced over at him "What is it?"

"This…I know it from somewhere." He said absentmindedly.

The white hair blitzkrieg looked over at the tree. It was a large tree but the middle of it had been blown away. The edges weren't exactly burned or charred but they were ash-like.

"This is where she hit?" Bryan asked.

"Yep. Right there." Tyson nodded.

Bryan nodded and continued looking at it…trying to piece together his broken memory.

"If it came out of her hand then she knows how to attack using her bit-beast."

"But…her beyblade wasn't even spinning. If you're going to use your bit-beasts powers, doesn't your blade need to be spinning…? Wait….how can you even use your bit-beasts powers?" the champion asked.

"In the Abbey we were taught how to use physical attacks to attack the blader." Bryan explained. "Though if she used it her blade had to be spinning."

"But it wasn't…we didn't even see her beyblader." Max said.

"That's impossible. You guys probably just overlooked it because you saw the light come out of her hand."

"Huh?" Tyson blinked and tried to think back. He was sure that there wasn't any beyblade spinning.

"Believe us, Bryan. Her beyblade wasn't spinning." Max nodded.

"Just like Boris to pull some tricks on us." Ian said and walked over to the broken tree.

Ming-Ming and Crusher sighed and looked at each other. They still hadn't stopped worrying about Brooklyn. Ming-Ming could only imagine what could have happened to Brooklyn.

"If that's all a lead we have we should check in with the others before it gets dark. Who knows we could get lost in this place at night." Julia said and looked at the sunset.

"She's right." Emily said and closed her laptop, sighing. "I can't get any signal."

"What do you expect? It's an island. An island run by Boris too." Michael shrugged.

Something started rustling through the trees as everyone got tense. Mystel dropped from the branches and stood up, removing his mask.

Lee quickly asked him if he found anything. Mystel shook his head and shrugged.

"Nothing to do now." Kevin put his arms behind his head "Let's see if the others were able to call anyone."

The first group, disheartened, started to make their way back to the hotel. Ming-Ming followed beside Crusher, a worried and tearful expression on her face. Her thoughts reached out to Brooklyn…wishing for his safety.

* * *

><p>Artemis leaned up against the wall as the scientists fiddled with the bit containing Zeus. Her face was emotionless as she turned her head towards the automatic doors that Boris walked through. The man walked right next to her and smirked. (Again, Artemis is not an OC. Don't worry guys)<p>

"And how are you feeling today?" Boris asked.

"Just fine. Same as yesterday." she said stoutly.

"Still angry with me I see. Really, Artemis…it's not in your nature to forgive?"

"You're wasting our time Boris." she nodded towards the scientists "How much longer?"

"Impatient too…no matter though. I've grown impatient myself." He looked at his men working on Zeus.

"We're sorry sir…it's taking longer than expected." one of them said.

"Humph…well hurry it up!" the purple haired man ordered.

The scientist gulped and went back to working.

_It's disgusting what they do. _Artemis thought. _Enslaving sacred spirits and using them to fight in a trivial game…only to be mocked and laughed at._

"How much longer do I have to wait?" She asked.

"Don't worry. You'll meet your next target soon." Boris reassured her.

"Who?"

"Well, it could be anyone of those children…but our intended target is Kai." he motioned her to follow him and lead her into a room with a big screen that covered the wall. He tapped a button of the remote and the lights dimmed and a picture was being projected on the wall of Brooklyn.

Artemis' eyes narrowed as she glared at his image.

"You've already met Brooklyn." Boris said and tapped another button.

This time a picture of Kai appeared on the screen, along with his stats, height, weight, age, and beyblade.

"Why him? Why don't we take out the other one?"

"Other one?"

"The one with red hair." Artemis glanced back at Boris. "The other one you always talk about."

"Oooh, you mean Tala. No, no…Kai is much, much stronger than him." Boris shook his head.

Artemis' eyes shifted back to the screen.

"Kai Hiwatari. He owns the red phoenix. Dranzer. If you take him out, the rest will tremble before you."

"As they should," Artemis said coldly.

Another smirk crossed Boris' face. Yes, everything was going according to plan. However, he did not expect them to discover the cameras. Other than the ones in the rooms, they had found several other cameras that had went offline. Now Boris was blind to those regions of the hotel. He needed to find some way of making them defenseless without straying too much from his original plan. Outside they would be defenseless…they would not be able to locate the cameras without killing the wildlife just to sort the real animals from the mechanical animals.

"Artemis." Boris spoke after a while.

The girl sighed and looked back at him.

"There's something I need you to do in the meantime" He spoke as he walked towards her.

"What is it this time?" She asked.

"In a few days you will meet the intended target, Kai Hiwatari, and earn a prize for your work. Consider it a bonus, you won't need to thank me…but until then…" he leaned down and whispered something in her ear.

Her face remained emotionless but she looked up at him "You won't care?"

"Not at all." He smiled.

Artemis nodded.

"Good. Now excuse me, I'm going to go check on Brooklyn…and we have a visitor arriving. Please be on your best behavior." the purple haired man nodded as he walked out of the room "Feel free to glance through those profiles." he said before disappearing.

Artemis watched him and sighed before looking back at Kai's picture.

* * *

><p>Brooklyn felt as if he was floating. He saw flashes of different colors on white and his head hurt like a 3-inch nail had driven through his head and dripped acid on his brain. His back was stiff and his body felt cold. Even wincing caused pain but he forced his eyes open and looked around. Partially blinded from earlier he forced himself to his feet but fell flat on his face. Now his head was spinning and his vision faded out completely.<p>

"Grhhg…" He huffed in pain and held his head. He reached out in front of him to feel around, trying to find out where he was. All he could feel was hard concrete instead of grass.

"Wh-where am I…?" he winced as he gingerly tried to look around.

As long as he laid still he was fine…his vision eventually returned but wasn't as well as it could have been.

"That girl…so much power…how is it even possible…?" He asked himself. He tried to remember what happened but when the light hit him he blacked out so he had no idea where he was or what happened after he fainted.

"Oh, you're awake."

He heard a voice say.

"Boris…?" Brooklyn asked and looked in the direction he heard the voice. "What are you…?"

"You don't look so good Brooklyn. Your face is rather pale." He smirked.

"You're here…is this still the island?"

"Yes. This is my island." Boris made a gesture for someone to walk in. "These men will help you understand what I plan to do here."

Brooklyn frowned "What?"

He heard a creaking noise and a clang of metal.

_Am I locked in a cell…? _He thought to himself.

Soon he felt hands on his arms and shoulders that yanked him to his feet. The sudden shift made his vision go blurry again and he fell to his knees…unconscious.

"Poor thing. He's really not well." Boris smirked and watched the men drag Brooklyn away.

Brooklyn's body hung and his feet dragged on the floor. He looked tattered and beaten. Artemis had really unleashed all her power on him that now the BEGA blader's nervous system was being effected.

Boris closed the cell door and followed after the guards "Make sure you don't overwhelm him, we don't want him dying on us. That would be a shame."

The two guards nodded and continued walking.

* * *

><p>"Were you guys able to find anything?" Hilary asked as the first group returned.<p>

"Just nothing and nothing." Julia shrugged.

"Were you able to contact anyone?" Lee asked Ray.

Ray shook his head and explained they had found more cameras so they were free to move around in certain areas. He showed them the director's board on the wall and marked all the places without cameras.

"We couldn't get anyone on the line. It was completely dead." Garland said.

They all sighed. It was no use, they were stuck there. They had to get by on their own. Tala looked surprised when Garland said the line was dead and glanced at Kai. If the line was dead how did Kai get a phone call? Maybe Boris cut the line after the phone call but it didn't make sense.

"No dial tone or anything?" Tala asked.

"Well it wasn't completely dead. I did try calling the BBA but it said we can't make calls outside this area." Garland explained.

"Wait, now that I think about it. Kai you got a call earlier today didn't you?" Ray asked.

Kai tensed a little and Tala smirked. There wasn't any way Kai could avoid this. Even so, the lone blader was silence for a while before looking at them. "I could barely hear who it was on the phone."

"What were they saying?" Bryan frowned.

"I just said I could barely hear them." Kai retorted.

Bryan just scoffed and looked at his leader who had an equally displeased look. Tala wasn't about to call Kai out in front of everyone because he felt that now it had gone beyond Boris keeping them there. It was much, much worse.

"If you got a call then that means it was from the island." Mathilda nodded "Right?"

"It had to be." Emily nodded.

The rest of group two walked up and the others looked at them expectantly.

"We found more cameras!" Daichi declared happily.

"But we had no further luck with the phone." Kenny sighed.

"And…" Raul started but was hesitant until Julia nodded at him to continue. Raul sighed and looked at everyone "I thought I saw someone sneaking around outside."

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"It was fast, I could barely see it but it was someone outside."

"It might be that girl again." Max gasped and looked at Ray who returned the look.

"Alright, I'm not being stuck inside this time!" Rick declared "I'm going to show that girl how to really beyblade."

"Rick hang on, you can't go by yourself!" Max followed him. "We'll go in a group like before."

Kai stayed where he was. He knew he'd have his chance to fight Artemis. He wanted a real match with her without any spectators.

This time Tala and his entire team went, with the exception of Kai, Tyson and Daichi went too of course. They couldn't ever sit still during excitement. Ray and Lee followed along while Garland nodded to Mystel to accompany him.

"Be careful Ray!" Mariah yelled at him "You too Lee!"

Ray nodded and told her not to worry, they'd be fine as a group.

Once they got outside Ian walked around the corner and started looking around with Spencer while Bryan and Tala went the other direction.

"Where are you you wimp!" Rick yelled into the air.

"Uh, Ri-" Max started but was cut off.

"I'll take you on right here right now!"

"Ri-"

"Be quiet Max, I'm working here. Come on out! Or are you scared!"

Max sighed "Oh boy…"

"He's so loud…it hurts my head." Tala sighed as Rick continued yelling.

"Tala." Bryan looked at him "Do you think Kai's part of it?"

The wolf was quiet for a moment before shrugging "I don't know yet."

"What about the phone call…?"

"I…it sounded familiar." Tala nodded.

"Boris?"

"I couldn't tell completely…"

"Maybe Barthez…?"

"It could have been…"

"What's wrong Tala?" Bryan finally asked.

"We're trapped on an island, with Boris running it…what do you think it wrong? Don't ask stupid questions." He partially snapped.

"No. there's something else."

"There's nothing else."

"Is too. Every time you're worried about something you get that look on your face."

"What look?"

"The look that you're worried."

"Smooth Bry…"

Bryan shrugged "How long have we known each other? I know how you are about these things. You'll stare off into space or look at something intently with that look on your face. Something else is bothering you….and why have you been so secretive recently anyway? Kai's rubbing off on you and not in a good way."

Tala opened his mouth to object when a large explosion interrupted him.

"Whoa!"

They heard Ray yell. Suddenly the entire Hotel was up in flames.

"Ahg, Hilary! Chief!" Tyson yelled and went to run inside the Hotel.

"Hey, Kid what are you doing?" Rick held him back.

"Let me go! We have to get them out!" Tyson screamed.

Ian and Spencer ran back in front of the hotel "What happened?" Ian asked, bewildered.

"A fire! What does it look like?" Tyson yelled.

Garland and Mystel looked at each other and ran into the Hotel.

"Hey!" Rick yelled. "You guys are going to get Barbequed!"

Ray and Lee soon ran in after them to which he just frowned. Was everyone stupid?

* * *

><p>"Mariah!" Ray and Lee yelled together.<p>

"I'm over here!" She yelled and was coughing.

Kai was doing his best helping Emily get out of some debris while Crusher just lifted the wood off her. Once Emily was freed Kai went to help Hilary while Julia was helping some of the others get out. All the boys worked together to get the girls out first then the younger members there. The first to appear was Mariah, Hilary, Ming-Ming and Mathilda.

Tyson ran up to her "Hilary are you ok?"

Hilary coughed into her hands "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry the others are right behind me." she explained.

The fire illuminated Tala's baby blue eyes. He looked just as horrified as the rest but if everyone was safe then the worst had been avoided. He sighed a little as more and more people emerged from the door. Max and Rick were standing by there team making sure everyone was all right.

"Emily you're bleeding!" Eddie exclaimed.

"It's just a scratch, I'm ok…" She nodded.

"Where's Kai?" Max asked.

"Still inside."

Tala looked at the door and never thought he'd be hoping to see Kai…but another eerie thought struck him. What if Kai had started the fire? No. He quickly shook that thought away as enough equally horrifying thought entered his mind.

His picture! Tala had left his photograph inside! The thought of it being gone forever made him impulsively run into the Hotel.

"Tala! Tala?" Bryan yelled and tried to grab his arm.

Spencer had to grab onto Bryan to keep him from running after their leader.

Max saw Tala run in. "We have to do something to put the fire out…" he bit his lip.

He took Draciel out and looked over at Spencer, who also had a water bit-beast, calling for him to launch Seaborg.

* * *

><p>Tala covered his mouth and nose with his collar while he carefully made his way threw the flames. He managed to make it to the stairwell which was full of smoke instead of fire. Like hell he was going to let that picture burn. The wolf climbed the stairs as fast as he could, inhaling smoke and coughing, for a few seconds he stopped and knelt to the ground for fresh air. After violently coughing to clear his lungs he stood up and continued up the stairs.<p>

Once he got into the hallway the place was fully engulfed in flames. Tala looked around and covered his nose and mouth again, still coughing, he made his way through the fire. He didn't see Kai on his way up and soon he hit a dead end. A broken rafter from the ceiling blocked Tala's path from his room.

"Are you kidding me?" Tala yelled angrily and launched Wolborg.

Wolborg cut through the rafter and the flames, stopping at the end of the hallway, the white wolf cleared a passage for his owner. A smirk crossed his face as he ran into the room and grabbed the picture frame out of his bag. Luckily, the frame was just scorched on the edges and the glass had some black stains but the picture itself was safe. He sighed in relief and ran out of the room just before it collapsed.

"Kai?" He yelled when he got out into the hallway.

"Tala what are you doing in here?" Kai appeared at the stairs.

"What are you still doing in here?" Tala caught Wolborg and ran to the stairs.

"I was making sure everyone was out of the building." Kai said as they took off down the stairs, Kai had his scarf covering the bottom half of his face while Tala used his collar.

"Are they?" Tala asked.

"I don't know, there's no one else in this building except for us now. Like all the maids and butlers just vanished!"

"How did the fire happen?"

"There was this explosion, next thing we're trying not to burn to death." Kai huffed.

They heard cracking below them and the stairs gave way, allowing them to plummet down to the next flight of stairs. It knocked the wind out of both of them and caused them to gasp in a large amount of poisoned air.

"The buildings…collapsing…" Tala winced and painfully sat up.

"It's up to you Tala…" Kai coughed "Dranzer will just make it worse."

Tala stood to his feet slowly, in pain and out of breath, he launched Wolborg again.

"Let's run…" Tala said.

"Let's." Kai nodded.

Once Wolborg was launched they ran as best they could with Tala's bit-beast leading the way.

When they got to the lower floor they both slid on ice and fell again.

"Ahg!" Kai yelled and rolled over "Tala!"

"That wasn't me…" Tala coughed then sat up.

The bottom floor had no fire on it but was slippery with ice now. Wolborg was still spinning, waiting obediently for them. Kai pulled himself up and rubbed his head, looking around. He soon figured it out, everything turned to ice because what was there. The others were attempting to put out the fire.

"Come on, the building's still coming down." Tala caught Wolborg and walked across the ice.

Kai sighed and followed him. Both had no problem walking across the ice but it had surprised them when they were running.

Outside, Max and Spencer were using their beyblades to drench the hotel in water while Tyson, Daichi and Bryan used their beyblades to direct the water in certain places.

"Look! Their they are!" Ming-Ming pointed as Tala and Kai appeared.

Tyson looked over and wanted to run over to them to see if they were ok but was quickly yelled at by Bryan to stay focused.

Ian ran over to Tala and Kai though, as well as the others.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Mathilda asked them worriedly.

Tala and Kai didn't say anything, they were too busy getting air into their lungs. With the exception of almost suffocating and having a whole building come down on them….they were great.

Tala had got his picture and came out unharmed and Kai had a safe return as well. Now, they were just trying to breath. Both were on their knees coughing. Garland and Ray had the others step back, telling them both the blitzkriegs needed air.

There was a crackling coming from the building. The top floor crashed into the next floor, then the next, then the next. A domino effect of destruction took place in front of them.

Max gasped. He knew what was happening. The force of the building coming down would sent a dust cloud and debris coming there way.

Spencer caught Seaborg and told Max to retreat. The other blonde boy nodded and called Draciel back. Ming-Ming put her hands over her mouth while Mariah had her hands together in a praying gesture. Bryan, Daichi, and Tyson combined their wind attacks to make a shield and block what was coming their way. Tala held onto his picture frame and looked around for any maids or butlers who might have ran outside, but there was no one. A strong wind blew over them from the residual strength of the three wind bladers force field. Kai coughed and tried to see through the haze. Standing behind the tree he saw Artemis. The two toned blader glared at her but she was soon lost in the dust cloud.

Once they were out of danger the wind disappeared and the three bladers were breathing heavily.

"That was awesome!" Daichi fell back on his butt and laughed.

Tyson smiled at his team mate but his smile disappeared when he looked at the remains of the hotel.

Bryan looked over at his teammates and ran over to check on Tala and Kai. Kai was still looking where he saw the female blader, but she was long gone. A frown covered his face until it was replaced with an evil smirk. Tala's throat and chest were killing him. He coughed into his arm and winced as he put his hand on his chest. It burnt and felt like he had to cough something up.

"Well…" Tala coughed and stood up shakily. "We've got no place to stay…" he sighed.

Tala was so angry Boris had tried something like that, even though he didn't appear angry, he was. The red head was far too exhausted at the moment to make a scene. The thought he had of Kai starting the fire lessened and he was sure Boris was capable of this…not Kai. Tala went to take a breath but coughed into his arm again.

"Tala, are you all right?" Garland asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah, I'm just great." He said sarcastically and looked back at the broken Hotel. "I'm just not going to stay all night out here." he coughed.

"You guys searched the island…" Tala looked at Bryan and Spencer. "Any shelter near by?"

"not really- unless you count those caves." Spencer said.

"Not the ones by the water, right?" Julia asked.

"No, the other one. By that cliff in the forest."

Julia nodded. She had forgot about that one.

There were no more options left. Boris was trying to lower their defenses. They didn't know the island as well as he did. Who knew how many of the animals were mechanical, or if Boris would make the cave collapse on them but what else could they do? Some shelter was better than no shelter at all_._

* * *

><p><strong>Ok that's the end...I hope you're all still very interested in this fiction. Anyway<strong>

**Please Review!**


	8. Lies

**Haha...fastest update ever right? I hope you'll all like this chapter too. i said i'd update as fast as possible ^^ and i want to say a quick thank you to ms. controversy. but for those of you who read my last note, it is sad, but i have to move on. each day i get better and my motivation is starting to come back. thank you to those who support i have. it is really sweet :) **

**by the way, let me clear up the Artemis character. She is a character i did create so she is basically an OC, but when i say she's not an OC it's because of the place she holds in my story, her role in it. she's more of a plot device. so that's what i meant. i was worried with her appearing i'd lose readers because she's not officially in the series or people would think i'll try to pair her with someone. **

**She's much like the maids and butlers, in a way they are OC's too but are necessary for the story. just to clear things up on any confusion. I hope it'll all be to your liking.**

**anonymous reviews welcome. please review.**

* * *

><p>Boris smiled and watched as the cameras in the hotel one by one went offline and the cameras outside took over. He saw the beaten beybladers walking into the forest. The man recognized their direction. They were heading to the caves, in the opposite direction of his base.<p>

"Oh this is just perfect!" He laughed evilly.

His red eyes looked at the corner screen and watched Artemis.

"She's back." he smiled and went to greet her at the door.

* * *

><p>Two big metal doors opened and Boris waited expectantly. Ahead of him was just a wall disguised as a rock face that started to open. Artemis was standing on the opposite side with a slightly displeased looked. Boris bowed his head to her a little and welcomed her back. She ignored him as she passed him. Boris noticed her indifference and followed her.<p>

"What's the matter Artemis?"

"You don't care about them?" Artemis looked back at him. "Asking me to do that yet…they're your own kind."

Boris waved his hand "No, no Artemis, that's not it. It would be a shame if anything happened to them. I knew they wouldn't be harmed."

"Boris…you-"

"I plan on keeping my promise to you, I would never dream of exterminating them before I could fulfill your wish." he hissed through his teeth.

"I don't believe you." she said coldly.

'Here…maybe this will change your mind." He said and had her follow him into one of the lower levels.

"I've seen the research labs."

"No, this is something different." Boris nodded.

The elevator took them low underground and opened to what looked like a medical ward.

"This is your birthplace." he walked out of the elevator.

On a gurney was an incomplete robotic body. It had pale white skin and black hair with the ends frayed like feathers. Around it's eyes was some dark discoloration that made it appear not to have eyes. Artemis cocked her head at the body and walked around to the other side of the gurney.

"This is his new body?" Artemis asked.

"Yes. With this he will be able to move around as freely as you do."

Artemis was quiet and nodded. A faint smile crossed her lips, it seemed her dream was finally going to come true. Boris noticed her expression and tried to hold back a smirk. Everything was going according to his plans too. He knew unsealing Artemis would come in handy. Once he got to power he wouldn't have any use for her, or her dream, but he was being weary. He knew Artemis didn't trust him. Boris would play things the way Artemis wanted them for now.

"A new body for all the bit-beasts." Boris said. "As promised."

Artemis' smile grew wider. "Good. They won't be imprisoned any longer or forced to play that degrading game."

Boris nodded "Yes. Just as you wanted."

"Although." Artemis looked at him seriously. "You never explained why you wanted to help. You're just the same as them after all."

"I'm hurt you think that." Boris said. "If that was true would I have done all this for you? Sealing away sacred spirits then using them in games? I've been wanting to set them free for a while and I didn't have the technology until now." He smiled.

"Out of the goodness of your heart? Sorry Boris, try again." she said bluntly.

Boris laughed "You need to learn not all humans are bad. I even gave you that body so you could have a place to live and do as you please. It was better than putting you into a beyblade or sealed up in that rock wasn't it?"

Artemis was quiet and still staring at Boris, wondering if she should trust him. She didn't know what history he had with the bladers kept on the island other than four of them had the four main sacred beasts, and some of the others had such things as artificially created beasts. That thought of artificially created beasts made her sick. That was a true disgrace. Though, this man Boris had given her a physically body that she controlled. She could speak and communicate when she wouldn't have been able too before.

"Believe me, Artemis. I would not waste my resources if I did not fully intend this." He smiled.

Artemis scoffed. What he was saying made sense. She couldn't catch him in anything other than why he had asked her to set the hotel a blaze yet evacuate the staff. There was some deep rooted hatred for those teens stuck on the island but she figured it was because they participated in that stupid game.

She nodded and accepted anyway. As long as the others were free it'd be fine. She could always eliminate Boris if push came to shove.

"You said we have a visitor arriving. Who?" she asked instead.

"Oh, he hasn't arrived yet. His flight has been delayed." Boris nodded.

Artemis went quiet again before looking down at the robotic body. At least now she wouldn't be alone. At least one other would be free. Boris had kept his promise so far…

* * *

><p>Hilary sighed and sat down on the cold rock floor inside the cave. She had black marks all over her from the suit. "What do we do now…?" she asked.<p>

The others were quiet and couldn't think of anything. Even Daichi was giving up on his "Smash Boris" plan. Boris had tried to kill them. That was it. Boris….tried to take their lives away. They were completely alone. Brooklyn had been taken out, they had almost been killed, they couldn't reach Mr. Dickenson at the BBA. They were all at Boris' mercy.

Ming-Ming sighed "I didn't know Boris could be like this…" she smoothed out her hair.

"It's how he works." Tala said. He was closer to the back of the cave sitting Indian style and facing away from them.

Ming-Ming blinked and looked over at Tala.

"I'm sure he has done much worse things in his past than attempted murder. Come on guys he tried to take over the world? What's that saying?" Tala glanced back at them before looking at his picture of the dark haired Russian soldier and the red haired woman.

"Hey, Tala. What's the deal with that picture anyway?" Tyson asked.

Tala didn't say anything and sighed quietly.

Ray nudged Tyson in the arm and shook his head at him. It wasn't any of their business. Tyson blinked at first. Not getting what the problem was. It was just a picture Tala had risked his life for so it had to be important but he shut up.

"Man, what a day." Mystel leaned against the wall of the rock and slid down to the ground.

"No kidding." Julia yawned.

"We can't all just go to sleep." Raul looked at Julia then at everyone else "I know we're all tired but…" he trailed off.

Julia looked at Raul then the group and nodded "We should sleep in shifts. Who wants to take the first shift?"

"Not me." Tyson yawned and laid down.

"I'll take the first shift." Kai said.

Tala looked at him suspiciously. "I will too." Tala said bluntly.

Kai frowned a little and glanced at Tala who was gazing intently at Kai. Garland looked at them "I'll take the first shift too" he said.

"Great! Now that, that's settled." Rick laid down and rolled over.

"Hold on. What about the second shift?" Kevin asked.

"I'll take it." Crusher nodded.

"I would, but I need my beauty sleep." Ming-Ming said.

Hilary rolled her eyes and mumbled something.

"I'll also take the second shift." Lee said.

The others nodded and all tried to get comfortable on the solid rock floor. Tala, Kai, and Garland stayed up to keep watch and would wake Crusher and Lee up if they got tired. It was a rather uneventful night. Tala was still sitting in front of the picture, looking at it. After some time Kai got up and walked to the front of the cave. Tala looked at him but Kai had just got up to practice some beyblading. He was quietly moving Dranzer around rocks, doing what he could to keep the animals away. When Tala saw that was all he was doing he faced back to the picture.

Garland was watching the entrance and the night was fairly peaceful. The only thing breaking the silence were the snores coming from around the cave. Tala glanced over his shoulder at his teammates who were fast asleep. He smiled a little and turned back to the picture.

"Tala I was wondering..." Garland started.

"What?"

"Everything you said about Boris and what he did to you guys. Was that true?"

"You think I'm lying?" Tala looked at him.

"No. Sorry that came out wrong." Garland shook his head. "It just seems unbelievable. With us, he did promise to make us champions like you said but we were never asked to do anything else."

"I guess he got smarter the second time around, even smarter the third…" Tala said and looked at Garland. "You joined because of your family right?"

"I'm surprised you remember…" Garland blinked. "Yeah, we're all champions. I wanted to become one too. Crusher needed the money for his sister's operation, Ming-Ming wanted fame, and Brooklyn.." he trailed off, his face changing "Brooklyn…" he sighed.

"Not to different from what he promised all of us." Tala said, meaning his team and himself.

Garland nodded and looked at the rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys. He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask Tala but at the same time he felt it wasn't his place to ask. Still, he took the chance.

"Mind if I ask you something personal?" Garland finally said.

"What?" Tala glanced at him.

"How did you meet Boris? I mean, how did you get involved with all that Abbey business?"

"I told you. Same reason you did."

"Yeah, you did tell me that…but I mean, I come from a family of champions, Crusher's sister needed an operation, Ming-Ming wanted to be famous, you wanted…?" Garland started it for him.

Tala sighed and shook his head "Same as you. I wanted to be a champion…I didn't care how I did it."

"For your family?"

"You could say that…rather for the lack of." The wolf shrugged.

"Lack of?"

"Nevermind." Tala shook his head.

Garland just looked at him. His curiosity was even greater now as he glanced at the picture frame. He tilted his head before looking back at Tala.

"Lack of family?" Garland asked "You know, you just ran in a flaming building for a picture. A picture you dragged all the way with you here. Most people would have just left it at home, but not you. It's special to you."

"It's a picture of my parents. The only one I have." He shrugged.

"The only one?" Garland seemed surprised "You mean there's none of you with them or anything like that?"

"Didn't you hear me the first time? It's the only one I have." Tala said sarcastically

Garland nodded "Sorry. I'm just trying to get on better terms is all…"

"Great job so far." Tala mumbled. "If you want to know the truth, I left my parents behind a long time ago. In Russia, it's system wasn't the only thing that changed. My father changed along with it and became someone I could barely recognize." he explained.

Tala flashed back to how things were with his home life. He remembered that part clearly. His father a lazy drunk who had no job and would just lay around the house feeling sorry for himself. His mother's smile had disappeared and she also became a different person. Not long after that his father started beating him and his mother. Before long Tala's mother left, leaving him with his father. The more Tala thought about it he sneered and put the picture frame face down. This motion confused Garland.

"And I haven't gone back since." Tala shrugged.

"So you're a runaway?"

"Yeah…" Tala lied.

"You ran off to join Boris?"

"Not exactly." Tala shook his head.

Bryan was listening to their conversation and was peeking at them with one eye open.

"Then what was it?" Garland asked.

"Things were bad." Tala shrugged "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Garland was quiet and nodded. He sensed Tala wasn't telling him the full story and that he didn't want to. The silver haired blade felt he needed to open up first.

"The truth is with me. I'm the failure of my family. I didn't become world champion in the sport I chose." Garland shrugged.

"I feel like I let them down."

"I didn't ask, Garland." Tala said coldly.

"Come on, Tala. Don't be like that. I want to be friends." he said sincerely.

"That's something I didn't expect to see." Kai said as he neared them. "You two having a heart to heart." he sat down and sat down against the wall.

Tala frowned "You done playing outside?"

"I'm going to sleep, you guys can stay up gossiping like little girls." Kai said crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

"Gossiping…" Tala scoffed. He couldn't be too angry though. If Kai was going to sleep he felt a little more relaxed and didn't feel the need to stay up. His eyes were burning and the pain in his throat and chest hadn't gone away yet. He was also in a bad mood after talking to Garland about his past. _"I want to be friends" _Garland's words echoed in his mind. Why the heck did he care? They never talked. They weren't close before but then again they never got the chance to be. Still…Tala wasn't too interested in Garland's request for friendship.

When Garland was sure Kai was asleep he looked back at Tala.

"So? How about it?" Garland asked.

Tala coughed quietly in his arm and looked at Garland. "What's with the sudden friendly attitude…"

"We got off on a bad start because of Boris. You're actually a good beyblader, I still want to have that re-match." Garland smiled.

"I'll think about it…" Tala said indifferently.

"Ok…fair enough." Garland blinked but then smiled.

Tala didn't say anymore and sat there. Bryan closed his eye and started to drift back off to sleep. He remember when they met Boris. Tala and Bryan were both homeless. Though Bryan was a runaway, Tala wasn't. They met Boris together, they joined the Abbey together, from there they were separated. Both had changed in new ways…because of Boris.

* * *

><p>After a few more hours, Garland started to doze off.<p>

"If you're tired just go to sleep." Tala said "I'll finish the rest of the shift."

"You sure?" Garland asked.

Tala nodded.

"All right…thanks."

"Don't mention it…" The red head sighed.

Garland found a place in the corner of the cave and laid down. He closed his eyes and yawned, falling to sleep. Now it was just Tala. The burning in his eyes had increased so he closed them for a moment. Only a moment. Almost immediately after he jumped awake and looked around. Everyone was still safe. He sighed in relief but that feeling left him.

Kai was gone.

Tala bit his lip and went over to Garland, shaking him awake.

Garland jumped "Ah! Oh…What's wrong?"

"Watch everyone."

"Wha?"

"Watch everyone, I'm going to look for Kai."

"He left?"

"What did I just say?" Tala said and stepped over the rest of the members of the cave.

"Hey, be careful." Garland called after him.

Garland didn't know why Tala was acting so abnormal around Kai. Tala started watching Kai like a hawk ever since they found the cameras. He didn't know why but he felt he needed to go after Tala, but he didn't. It was clear Tala didn't want Garland's help, or friendship for that matter.

* * *

><p>Kai walked through the forest alone. His eyes were scanning the surrounding areas for the landmarks described to him on the phone. The sky was dark and millions of stars were in the sky and the moon lit the way. He felt better on this little stroll. He was finally alone…finally…<p>

Kai sighed as he stopped in his track, frowning slightly.

"I didn't take you as the stalker type." He said aloud then glanced over his shoulder. "Following me again?"

Tala sighed and stepped out from behind a tree. "So much for that plan…" he mumbled.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back in that cave becoming besties with Garland." Kai said sarcastically.

"Tch…and what are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be back in the cave pretending like you hate all of us?" Tala said back just as sarcastically.

"I came here to be alone."

"Which you know is dangerous."

"It's nothing I can't handle…I'm not afraid of Boris, that girl, or you." Kai said seriously.

The red head narrowed his eyes.

"Seems like you're the one who's scared Tala. Too bad, I'm not going to take you back to the cave you'll have to-"

"Who was on the phone?" Tala demanded.

Kai smirked with amusement. Tala still hadn't let that go.

Tala was frowning "It was…Voltaire wasn't it?"

The two-toned blader froze. He gritted his teeth and turned to face his teammate.

The wolf smirked "It was. I thought the voice sounded familiar…I just couldn't place it, until during the fire. It was that same voice always whispering orders to Boris. Your grandfather."

"You're too smart for your own good. Stay out of my business Tala, and I'll stay out of yours."

"Sorry but I can't do that. What are you thinking Kai? They're the ones who used and abused us, they lied to us for all those years."

"Good thing it has nothing to do with you then." he said coldly.

"Where's your pride? This so called honor I've heard so much about. The honor that cost us the championship match?"

Kai was quiet and glaring at Tala…but his teammate was right. What was he thinking? Going back to Boris and Voltaire again. Even so…the wolf had no right to question his honor. No right at all.

Kai smirked and closed his eyes before turning his back to Tala and walking away.

Tala frowned then started following Kai again.

"Stop following me."

"I'm not, you just happen to be going in the same direction I am." Tala smirked.

"Tala." Kai stopped walking "I'm warning you. Leave."

"So it's threats now."

The two-toned blader turned his head to look at him "Leave. Now."

"Tell me where you're going. What did he tell you to do, why are you even doing it, I thought you hated Voltaire like the rest of us." Tala frowned.

Kai didn't answer him but just smirked "Someone as weak as you could never understand."

"What's that?" Tala snapped.

"You don't know what it means to have true power Tala. Even if I explained it to you, you wouldn't understand." Kai laughed.

Tala gritted his teeth.

"You couldn't even beat Garland. The sad thing is he wasn't even fighting at full power, and you slipped into a coma after the fight. Face it. You're weak, and in beyblading there's no room for losers." he said before walking again. A smirk stuck on his face.

Tala stood where he was, shaking in anger. Kai was acting just as he did when he got Black Dranzer in his possession. "You want to fight Tyson again. You'll really go back to them _again _just for a shot at fighting Tyson? Are you kidding me?"

Kai ignored him and kept walking. The sound of clicking behind him stopped him. Tala had his beyblade ready to launch.

"You'll have to get through me first." Tala glared.

"You can't be serious." Kai sighed.

Tala's beyblade whizzed by his head before returning to Tala's hand. "If I'm so weak, it shouldn't be a problem for you."

Kai turned around "Ok, if you insist." He said and got his beyblade, Dranzer, ready to launch.

Tala did the same thing and was still glaring at Kai.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, stay tuned for the next chapter. things are just going to unravel more and more from here.<strong>

**Review!**


	9. Showdown

**Well. i bet you weren't expecting another fast update. anyway, the moment you've all been waiting for! ok, maybe not...but...just enjoy it xD also if you're wondering about why i did what i did here see the authors note at the bottom, it'll explain my thoughts on Tala vs Kai and why what happened happened. No flaming please, it's just my own observations.**

**ANONYMOUS REVIEWS WELCOME!**

**REVIEW, PLZ.**

* * *

><p>Kai was still smirking smugly, amused at his teammate. What was Tala hoping to accomplish? Did he want his beyblade to be destroyed? Tala was strong sure, but not strong enough for Kai. The two-tone beyblader didn't feel him worthy enough to fight him, but wasn't about to pass up the challenge, still…Tala was out of his league.<p>

Tala looked at his teammate, frowning. Kai was too confident for his own good. He was unstable, he had to be subdued. If Boris got a hold of Kai that would be it... they would have no hope of defending themselves against his plan. Tyson wouldn't be able to fight back. The world champion would be too distressed over Kai's betrayal to be able to fight. It would be a repeat of the finals all over again. Tala would not let that happen. He would stop Kai…somehow…

"Dranzer!" Kai yelled as he launched the phoenix.

"Go Wolborg!" Tala launched the wolf.

The blue and white beyblade circled each other. They weren't in the stadium so it was impossible to get a stadium out. They would fight until one of them stopped spinning or got destroyed. Tala's beyblade style was endurance; this battle would be drawn out as long as he stayed out of Kai's direct path.

"Hehe, this won't take long." Kai smirked and sent Dranzer after Wolborg.

Wolborg attacked Dranzer and the two blades started grinding together, creating sparks. The blades crashed against each other chasing each other around. Kai looked at his teammate with a smug look. Tala was the opposite. He was frowning as Dranzer overpowered Wolborg. The blue beyblade slammed into the white beyblade continuously, forcing it back.

"No…" Tala gritted his teeth.

"If you want to stop me you should put up a better fight than this!" Kai called to him.

Tala frowned as Wolborg started to wobble and the pain in his chest and throat increased slightly. He winced and put his hand over his chest, the pain had just gone away and now it was back!

"Come on…I can't lose this one." Tala said to himself.

"So pathetic…" Kai shook his head. "After I defeat you I'm going to defeat Tyson! Then I'll be the world champion!"

Tala noticeably tensed up while Wolborg avoided an attack from Dranzer, then it slammed the blue beyblade hard with a counter attack, forcing Dranzer off balance. A shockwave came from between the blades and made Kai step back. At first he was surprised, not expecting such a powerful attack.

"That's the only reason…?" Tala asked. "The only reason you're going to join Boris is so you can fight Tyson…nothing else…Just to fight Tyson…"

"I couldn't care less about his plans for world domination or revenge, or whatever the heck he wants; I'm not interested in any of it." Kai confessed. "He's just an opportunity to fight Tyson. He can do what he wants as long as I get what I want."

Tala smiled and started to laugh, it was a mocking laughter that infuriated Kai.

"What's so funny?" Kai snapped.

"You're the pathetic one!" Tala laughed.

The phoenix narrowed his eyes and growled.

"Just for a chance to fight him? That's hilarious! You can challenge him to a fight anytime! What stops you? Because beating him isn't good enough. You don't just want to beat Tyson; you want everyone to see you do it. For someone so anti-social and moody you sure do crave attention. And why do you crave attention? Because you want to blow people off as if you're better than them!" Tala laughed mockingly. "And the reason you want to feel better than everyone is because you're a spoiled, rich, brat!"

Kai glared and Dranzer crashed hard into Wolborg, generating more shockwaves that traveled through the rest of the forest. This shockwave forced Tala back. He coughed into his hand but was still laughing. The wolf looked up at his teammate.

"That's the truth." Tala smiled. "Isn't it Kai? It's all for Voltaire too. You claim you hate him, but it's all an act. Like everything else. Isn't it?"

"Shut up!" Kai yelled angrily. Dranzer picked up speed and started to charge at Wolborg. "You don't know anything about my relationship with my grandfather. You don't know ANYTHING about what he put me through."

"Right." Tala laughed and changed his voice to mock Kai "Oh I ran away because my life is perfect!"

Wolborg quickly moved out of Dranzer's way. The blue beyblade crashed right into a tree and made it collapse. Birds quickly flew out of the collapsing tree as Dranzer burst through the bark, charging at Wolborg again.

"What would you know? You know why I was in the Abby in the first place? He was trying to turn me into a weapon. I was never his Grandson!" Kai frowned.

"But as long as he offers an opportunity to fight Tyson…" Tala smirked.

Kai growled.

"Face it, Kai. The truth is…YOU'RE not worthy of beating Tyson."

Kai's hands clenched into fists and his eyes widened. He started grinding his teeth together, glaring intensely at Tala. It's as if he wanted to just throw fire at Tala instead of his beyblade.

"How dare you…" Kai growled.

"Oops. Hurt your feelings?" Tala asked innocently.

"Tch…Go Dranzer!" Kai's beyblade ignited in flames and went flying towards Wolborg again.

"Novae Rog!" Tala yelled. The ice crystals came up behind him as his bit beast now charged at Kai's bit-beast and caught it in its jaws.

"No." Kai frowned.

The ice formed around Kai's beyblade as Tala's smashed the ice, knocking the beyblade back. When Tala's ice and Kai's fire mixed together, a burst of energy came from their blades and slammed into their bodies, knocking both of them back a good distance from each other. Kai hit the ground first but quickly hopped onto his feet. Tala's shoes slid on the ground and he landed in a kneeling position. He felt the pain in his chest again and coughed before forcing himself to his feet.

Kai looked blown away at the reaction their two beyblades had and wiped the blood from his lip. Soon he frowned again.

Tala smirked "You wanted a fight did you? Now show me watch ya got!"

"No problem!" Kai yelled. "You're so going to regret this!"

Tala scoffed.

Wolborg charged at Dranzer who took flight and crashed down on the wolf. Tala jumped out of the way and tried to counter. As their blades collided more shockwaves were released throughout the forest. The ground started to rumble from the force, the trees around them started to fall under the weight of all the pressure. Animals quickly started to run away from the bladers, sensing danger; they completely fled from the area.

Kai through his scarf off his neck and it collided with a tree and crushed it. Soon Kai called for his Blazing Gig Tempest attack. The red phoenix feathers appeared everywhere, trying to pierce Wolborg. The white wolf moved skillfully over the dirt to avoid getting hit, but one of the feathers connected and Wolborg was surrounded. The final feather gathered to pierce it through the middle.

"Wolborg!" Tala yelled.

A powerful ice blast came from the beylade and blew the feathers away with the blizzard.

More trees were injured in the process and both Tala and Kai were actively moving along with their beyblades. Kai was shivering slightly from the cold Wolborg had conjured while Tala had several scratches from Kai's attack. A beyblade match had turned into a physical fight now. Whatever damage they did to each other's beyblades they did to each other's bodies. The battle had already taken place for 20 or 30 minutes back and fourth.

They glared at each other, out of breath from the amount of power they used already. Tala was more out of breath and was starting to get dizzy. The pain was becoming too intense in his chest. Kai noticed and smirked at him.

"Getting tired yet…?" he mocked.

"…You….wish…" Tala breathed.

"Hehe…" Kai smiled and charged at Tala.

Tala frowned and went to attack Kai, but Dranzer moved out of the way of Wolborg's attack, appeared behind it and slammed hard into it. The red head was forced down to the ground and started coughing.

"I'm not…going down that easily…!" Tala yelled.

Kai couldn't help but laugh. "This is the high and mighty Tala talking down to me no more than 5 minutes ago?"

"Heh. This is the skillful and talented Kai that's taking 5 minutes to defeat someone as 'weak' as I am?"

Kai slammed into him again, his blade ignited once more and the red phoenix appeared. The fire turned blue and swarmed around them, setting the forest on fire. Tala summoned a powerful blizzard attack that protected him against Kai's fire. Friction was caused and dark clouds soon started to gather over that part of the forest.

* * *

><p>An orange glow was coming from the forest as the dark clouds gathered over it. Garland noticed the animals running out of the forest from that direction.<p>

"What's taking you Tala…?" Garland said to himself.

It didn't take long for the shockwaves to find the caves. The loose stones on the ground rattled and the cave shook. The shaking wasn't very intense and stopped after a while but it was enough to make Garland's uneasiness grow. He contemplated if he should go after Tala, wondering if he had found Kai or if Tala had confronted something on the way.

The shaking started up again and was a little more intense than last time. Ian jumped awake and looked around.

"What is that..?" he asked.

Bryan looked around and noticed Tala and Kai were both missing.

"Are all you guys light sleepers…?" Garland looked at them.

"Living around Boris is hard to be a heavy sleeper." Spencer said "Where's Tala? And Kai?"

Garland shrugged. "No idea. Tala was keeping watch, next thing he's shaking me awake saying he's going to find Kai."

"Kai left first?" Bryan yelled.

"What's with the screaming…?" Ray and Lee both woke up.

Garland went to answer them but the shaking increased. Larger rocks started to fall from the ceiling of the cave. The rest of the group woke up from the shaking or from the screaming. One by one they ran out. Bryan grabbed Tala's picture and ran out of the cave.

It was a very clumsy sight. No one could really run straight because of the shaking but luckily they all made it out ok. Tyson started complaining about not getting a full night's sleep in a while. Hilary just rolled her eyes at him.

"Where's Tala and Kai?" Max asked as he looked around.

"They're still inside?" Kenny exclaimed.

"No, look." Garland pointed to the orange glow in the forest. "Tala left to find Kai. Now these earthquakes keep happening."

"Do you think it was that girl?" Crusher asked.

Tyson frowned "She's after Kai and Tala now? I'm not going to let her!" he yelled and ran off in that direction.

"Oh! Tyson!" Kenny ran to follow him.

"Count me in." Daichi slammed his fist together "She can't take all of us on."

Ray nodded. The others agreed and ran to find both Tala and Kai. Bryan held the picture tightly in his hand as he ran. If something happened to that photograph his leader would be crushed.

"What's with Tala's attitude anyway?"

"Beats me." Spencer shrugged. "He hasn't been acting himself."

Bryan nodded. _No kidding…_

Garland overheard them. Tala was acting different? No one had noticed, but then again they didn't know the wolf very well…he was hard to get close to.

* * *

><p>Tala coughed violently into his hand as he stood in the middle of the flames. His jacket was torn open and missing a sleeve. His black shirt was revealed but had rips and tears in it, along with the belt on the left side of his thigh had been torn off. The wolf was a battler torn mess with a scratch on his cheek and various burn marks ranging from first degree to second degree burns. His injuries also included his throat and chest pains from the previous fire, which was only getting worse.<p>

Kai stood in front of him. Kai's scarf was somewhere in the flames, his vest was half torn off and his shirt was ripped. The phoenix had no feeling in his hands or feet and felt like a thousand needles had been stabbed into his arms and face. The cold had numbed him even from the heat of the fire. Kai had various scratches on his body from ice slicing him up.

They were both about sixty feet from where the battle had started in the first place but that didn't matter. Neither knew where they were, neither cared, and neither remembered why the battle between them had started. Tala's blue eyes were dull and missing life, as were Kai's.

Artemis was standing a few feet away where the fire hadn't reached yet. She had shown up to challenge Kai but Tala was messing all of that up.

Boris watched through his cameras, displeased at first but got happier as he saw the fight between the two continue.

"Hold on Artemis." He ordered. "Maybe…we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone. Let them destroy each other."

Artemis nodded and stayed hidden.

Tala and Kai exchanged blows once again, generating more shockwaves. The red head flashed back to his battle he had with Tyson. He remembered the way the power flowed through him.

_That's different…_Tala thought. _I was weaker then…I'm stronger now than I was then…_

Kai sent another wave of fire at Tala who screamed out in pain as the fire surrounded him. For a brief second the wolf was certain he was in hell…this was hellfire he was up against.

_Tyson was never alone in his battles was he…? That's how he beat me, that's how he beat Brooklyn… That's Tyson's strength and weakness…That's why Boris wants to destroy us. So Tyson will be alone. _Tala gritted his teeth and blew the fire away with an ice cold wind.

Tala laughed and staggered. "You know Kai…I'm wondering if you'll ever get serious."

"Serious? You want to see serious huh?"

"First." Tala looked up at him "If you hate Voltaire so much…why are you going back to him? Just to fight Tyson? He's your friend, isn't he?"

"Shut up! I told you, you won't ever understand!" Kai yelled.

"Why are you against us? Why are you against me?"

"I have my reasons…but I'm going to teach you what happens when someone steps on my pride!" Kai yelled and sent more fire towards Tala.

_Find it, come on Tala. Where's your strength? _He heard someone say, but he wasn't sure if it was himself or truly someone else. _Why are you trying so hard? What are you fighting for? _

Tala winced. Flashes of images started going through his brain, and it was like he knew what Kai's next attack was. It was as if he could see into Kai's mind.

Soon, he saw other images. He saw himself as a child walking the lonely streets, hurt and hungry. He was utterly alone. As he walked he bumped into a silver haired child who looked as sad as he did. This child was Bryan. The next image, it was Tala and Bryan sitting in an alley way. They were laughing and joking, and weren't alone anymore. Now they had each other instead of no one. Boris flashed into his mind. The man towered over the two children, offering them a place at his Abbey.

"_I'll transform you into champions." the man smiled "There will be food, warm beds, and shelter. Much better than being out here."_

_The two boys were hesitant at first, but the promise of food, shelter, and making something of themselves other than being street rats…how could they possibly say no?_

_Without much though, Tala followed the purple haired man with his best friend to the Abbey. _

_Why am I remembering this…? _Tala thought. He heard the voice speak again, still not sure if it was himself or not.

_Remember, Tala. You've got to remember! Where is your heart? Remember._

An intense pain entered Tala's head as he fought off Kai's attack. He was on the losing end and was having trouble defending himself.

_Remember…? What…? _Tala thought. _What did I forget…?_

An image of the Abbey flashed into his mind once again. The countless hours of training, the exhaustion, but the will to never give up, the hope of one day becoming the world champion. It stayed.

"I wanted to win…" Tala said to himself.

"What's that?" Kai asked.

"It was because I wanted to win…or so I thought."

"Heh. A little late for second thoughts, you think?"

Artemis blinked as she watched the fight. She sensed something. A strange feeling was emanating from Tala. Kai felt it too and stepped back. He didn't know what Tala was up to, but he knew the wolf was about ready to unleash another attack.

"The truth is…I gave up. I lost the will to continue fighting. That's why I joined the Abbey. I wanted an easy way out…" Tala nodded.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're so desperate to defeat Tyson. Why? You want to beat him so badly, you'll join the enemy? You can't bear losing to anyone else and you feed off your anger and frustration."

"Sounds like the heat has gone to your head!" Kai laughed.

An image of Tala's mother flashed in his mind, her kind, sweet smile. Then an image of his father flashed in his mind, the once strong and proud soldier he knew. Then, his mother's smile was gone as he witnessed his father hit her for the first time in his life. Tala ran between the two trying to stop it but the beating turned on him. Then…his mother walked away as he cried and screamed after her.

_I didn't want to believe it. I held on to that hope…that one day she'd come back and smile once more. That one day…my father would return to his tall and proud self. _

Tala thought of Bryan. The two happy children who lived on the streets, who had absolutely nothing but each other. In the Abbey Bryan turned into some mean and vicious…someone he didn't recognize, just as his father had changed.

_I changed too… The true reason I joined the Abbey. I wanted a home, but in the back of my mind I hoped if Boris made me a champion it would restore my father's pride. My mother would come back…We would pick up where we left off and become a happy family again._

Images of people Tala had befriended, fought against, and hated flashed through his mind like photographs.

_Remember…_

"What is he…?" Artemis asked herself as she watched Tala. "This…this is unnatural."

"Boris took advantage of that." Tala shook his head and looked up at Kai "What I said before about you Kai…"

Kai looked at his leader with a confused look; he didn't understand at all what was happening; only that Tala's power had somehow increased. "Apologizing? I haven't even beat you ye-"

"Everything I said about you is completely true!There's no mistaking it!" He snapped.

Kai bit his lip until it bled. "Dranzer! Shut him up for good!" he yelled angrily. His voice fluctuating.

"Wolborg!"

_Boris will take your dreams and hopes and stomp on them, until you were lower than before. He throws you into a dark hole from where there is no escape. _Tala thought.

A powerful ice blast engulfed them. The fire was put out and all the surrounding trees that were left untouched by the fire were not left untouched by the cold icy breath of the white wolf. The grass wilted, the leaves were stripped from the bark, and the ground became cased over by ice. Artemis had turned and ran away from this calamity.

Kai's eyes widened as he witnessed the woman in white appear in front of him with long blue hair. Behind her, she brought with her a terrible blizzard that surrounded both of the bladers. Once it engulfed them, that's all that was left. They were stuck in this storm.

"Dranzer!" Kai yelled as the phoenix conjured up a giant blue sun that exploded.

When the powers met a giant earthquake erupted. It cracked the ground and opened up the earth. The storm clouds chased each other around until a large tornado was created. Tala and Kai were both yelling, still ordering their attacks, neither one yielding. Tala was surrounded by fire while Kai was fighting against a powerful blizzard.

* * *

><p>As the rest of the teams ran the earthquake knocked them all off their feet.<p>

"What's that?" Emily gasped at the dark clouds.

Before anyone could answer they were stuck in a wind shear that tossed them all around.

"We need to get to safety!" Miguel yelled.

"What's happening?" Ming-Ming cried.

"This is painful!" Max yelled.

None of them could tell if it was heat or cold they were feeling. All they knew, it caused pain from their head to their toes.

"Make it stop!" Mariah had her hands on her head.

* * *

><p>The violent shaking and the powerful wind continued on but suddenly stopped as quickly as it had come.<p>

Tala and Kai were forced away from each other.

Kai barely knew what was going on until the ground greeted him with a hard thud.

Tala flew in the opposite direction, feeling blood gush up into his throat and mouth as a hard surface hit his back.

Dranzer was barely spinning when it landed and soon burst into pieces. Wolborg had landed on the ground in several places at once; it had already broken apart before Dranzer had.

Both beybladers laid there motionless. The battle was over.

The voice kept echoing in Tala's head.

_Remember._

He didn't know who it was…but he was sure it was a woman's voice. His vision started fading out completely, all he felt was painful burns, and all he could taste was iron, all he could hear was the echoing voice that disappeared with the rest of his senses.

Kai forced himself into a sitting position, shivering, he looked at Tala's motionless body and chuckled to himself. He crawled over to the pieces of his broken beyblade and reached for the bit. The wolf didn't let him escape without any damage, that was for sure. Kai winced as he attempted to force himself into a sitting position but failed. He fell onto his stomach and lost consciousness. As he faded into darkness he couldn't get Tala's words out of his head, or Tala's strength, but most of all he couldn't forget about the white woman who appeared in front him.

* * *

><p>Boris picked himself off the ground and held his head.<p>

"Sir." One of the guards went over to help him.

"Did we get that on tape?" He ordered.

"O-oh…Yes sir! But I'm afraid camera's 1198, 2874, 8893, and 47382 are offline." someone at the computers said.

"But the battle is recorded?" Boris asked.

"Yes sir!"

Boris smirked. "Excellent…I never expected Tala to put up such a fight. My memory of him might be a little dusty."

The shockwaves Kai and Tala had generated found their way to Boris base and crashed a few of his computers, but the damage wasn't as bad as the forest's. The purple haired man talked into his headset that connected to Artemis.

"Collect them." He ordered.

Artemis walked cautiously up to Kai and Tala. She found them disgusting. Forcing bit-beasts to fight their battles. Without hesitation she took the red phoenix from Kai. As she did this a truck pulled around the corner and masked men loaded Kai into it.

Boris watched on the cameras and saw the rest of the teams pulling themselves up from the disaster that just took place. He smirked and told Artemis to hurry up and get Wolborg. This, Artemis was hesitant to do. She walked over to Tala and kneeled down beside him, frowning.

"A mutated sacred beast…?" she asked and grabbed the bit with the white wolf. "Boris, why do you need this one? It's not real. I should smash it." she raised her arm up and planned to throw it on the ground and stomp on it.

"No!" Boris shouted. "It's a bit-beast all the same. Doesn't it deserve a chance too?"

Artemis stopped then looked back at it. "Wolborg…it was artificially created. Who would do such things?"

Boris smirked "It doesn't matter now. Just bring it here."

"And this boy…he's connected with it." She said. "They're unnatural Boris."

"Let's find a way to free them. Shall we?"

Artemis was quiet, thinking it over, and then nodded. She waved her hand and the masked men picked Tala up and put him in the truck with Kai and drove off.

The emotionless girl then started to walk away.

* * *

><p>"What in the world was that?" Eddie asked as he helped Emily up.<p>

"No idea." she shook her head.

"We have to hurry, maybe Kai and Tala can tell us something." Max suggested.

Mariah rubbed her arm and exchanged looks with Mathilda.

Bryan still held on to Tala's picture and looked at the rest of his team. Spencer looked like he was thinking hard about something but nodded over at Bryan. Ian also looked worried; of coarse they didn't trust Kai and worried about their leader's safety.

Once the blader's got there a series of gasps and awe's were heard throughout the crowd. In front of them were miles of destruction, and Artemis was long gone by the time they arrived. The ground had a layer of ice over it and the clouds were starting to disappear. The trees were scorched and missing all their leaves.

Kevin reached out and lightly touched the tree before yanking his hand away. "Ah!"

"Is it still hot?" Mariah asked, looking at the burns.

"No…its cold…ice cold!" he yelled.

"Wha…?' Mariah reached out and touched the tree. She gasped "He's right!"

Ian walked over the ice carefully. The entire place looked like a wildfire had gone through there but it felt like they were in the artic. They knew the fire that had taken place was recent, there was no way everything cooled down that much so fast.

"It's cold here actually." Ming-Ming shivered and hugged herself.

Fog lightly covered the ground and moved out of their way as they walked.

"This must have been some battle." Rick said, stroking his chin as he looked around.

"Hey, I found something." Ian said and knelt down beside the left over pieces of Kai's beyblade. Tyson quickly ran over and tried to grab the pieces up but quickly dropped them.

"What's wrong?" Lee asked.

"It's freezing!" Tyson yelled.

"This is Tala's blade then." Ray said and had found the remains of Wolborg. "His is the opposite… look. The metal is glowing red."

"Where are they…?" Raul asked and looked around.

"They disappeared just like Brooklyn!" Daichi yelled "It was probably that girl again!"

Garland bit his lip nervously; he wasn't so sure it was Artemis.

Tyson frowned and was shaking in anger "First Brooklyn, now Kai and Tala?"

"Tyson…" Hilary put her hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Why is he doing this to us? Why doesn't he just face me already?" Tyson snapped.

Kenny opened his laptop and started typing away on it. "The bits are missing, along with them…that girl must have taken it too." he nodded.

Spencer frowned and looked at the pieces of his leader's beyblade. Bryan grasped the picture harder and sighed.

"You know." Garland spoke up. "Tala went looking for Kai…he woke me up saying Kai had taken off somewhere. A few minutes after he left all that shaking started."

Bryan, Spencer, and Ian looked at him.

Tyson looked over his shoulder at Garland. "Then they must have run into that girl! Maybe she was going after Kai because he was alone then Tala showed up!"

"But we can tell whose beyblades these are." Garland said. "With Brooklyn's we couldn't."

Tyson blinked then frowned "So what are you saying?"

Mariah looked around, noticing all the burns but how cold everything was. "Tala uses ice in battle…" she nodded.

"And Kai uses fire." Miguel said.

The others all seemed to suspect what went on.

"What's your guys' point?" Tyson asked.

"Hold on!" Hilary yelled. "You don't really think Kai and Tala fought each other do you?"

Tyson stood up "No! They wouldn't do that! Not at a time like this! Look. They're bits are gone and so are they! It was Boris! It was that girl!"

"I don't think she had something to do with it this time…we all saw that light when Brooklyn disappeared. This time what was it? Earthquakes and a tornado. Everything looks burned but is surrounded by ice. From what we saw the girl uses light." Garland said.

"No! I can't believe what I'm hearing. Kai wouldn't do something like that! Not to Tala!" Tyson looked over to the remaining Blitzkrieg Boys who looked like they believed it.

"Not you guys too! They were friends!"

Ian shook his head "You're wrong about that. Tala and Kai couldn't stand each other."

Tyson frowned and everyone else looking surprised, even BEGA.

"What? You guys think that just because they were teammates they liked each other?" Ian asked. "Just because Kai was on our team doesn't mean we're friends."

"That's true." Spencer nodded. "Every time Tala and Kai were in the same room you could cut the tension with a knife. They were beyblading partners but that's it."

"For a while we thought they might have been friends too." Bryan said "But they're not."

"So…you think they'd do something like this?" Mariah asked.

Bryan shrugged "Tala wouldn't have fought Kai at a time like this unless he had to."

"And Kai wouldn't have picked any fights with Tala!" Tyson said stubbornly.

"The evidence is against that claim." Kenny said.

"You too?" Tyson snapped.

"I'm sorry Tyson. I know it's not what you want to hear but…everything that happened, the burns, the ice, the wind shear, the tornado we saw…it's all evidence of hot air mass meeting cold air mass." he explained.

"Meaning…?" Gary asked.

"Usually the cold air will be warmed up by the hot air and the hot air will be cooled by the cold air. However, if both forces are unyielding it can have devastating effects. Think of it as an unstoppable force hitting an immovable object. The results are cataclysmic."

Tyson crossed his arms and turned his back to them "I don't believe it. How do you explain them not being here? Their bits missing? It's just like with Brooklyn. It's all Boris' doing. If they fought each other it's only because Boris set them up! Or he just made it seem like they fought each other!"

The others were quiet and looked at each other. Hilary watched Tyson with a worried look before looking down. There wasn't anything anyone could tell Tyson to calm him down…not that anyone was calm really. Brooklyn, Kai, and the one person who had any grasp on the situation were missing and no one knew where to find them.

"Then…what should we do?" Ming-Ming asked.

"This is really bad." Crusher agreed.

"You guys have any plans…?" Max looked at the remaining Blitzkrieg Boys.

Bryan sighed and looked down at the picture of Tala's parents. They were lost without their leader, someone they had grew up with and been taking orders from was gone.

Spencer crossed his arms, not knowing what to do.

Ian seemed lost too.

After some silence Spencer shook his head "We have to get back to the cave. If we stay out here we may be next."

"They're picking us off like flies." Bryan sighed. "We've looked all over this island and still can't find him, now we're missing three people. We can't just sit around and wait to be destroyed."

"He's right." Julia nodded.

"It'd be pointless to look around now." Rick said. "Even if we go in groups of two to search we'd be picked off."

"We'll go back to the caves." Ray said. "Searching now is pointless. Everyone's too upset and tired right now. We'll start fresh in the morning, but everywhere we go we go as one big group."

"Ray…?" Lee asked.

"She won't be able to take on all of us. I know that for a fact." Ray nodded. "She's stupid to try it."

Max smiled "That's a good point. We may not be able to cover as much land but we'll be safe. We should keep our eyes open for anything. Maybe in the morning we should head back to the docks and search from there."

"Why the docks?" Daichi blinked.

"We were dropped off there. If there's a dock there's a boat. Maybe someone would come along."

"And what if they don't?" Raul asked.

"It's worth a try." Max shrugged.

"Oh!" Hilary perked up "We could find a lighthouse! Remember? Like before." she looked at the old members of the Bladebreakers who nodded. How could they forget that island adventure? Only this time they were trying to be killed not have their bit-beasts stolen.

Tyson listened to them but still had his back turned. He didn't want to believe that Kai and Tala had tried to destroy each other…but there was rage behind this fight. Beyblades didn't break from a friendly warm up match.

"I think whenever someone invites me to an island I'm going to saw no." Kenny said.

Max laughed. "Kenny, Japan is an island."

"It's a big island! With people and cities and my mom and computers." Kenny hugged his laptop to his chest.

Emily laughed and patted him on the back "There there."

"He's right though. We should have been more suspicious about those invitations" Ray said.

"They seemed legit." Miguel crossed his arms.

"I wonder if Mr. Dickenson is looking for us." Daichi said.

The others shrugged but they hoped Mr. D had noticed their absence. They hoped that any day a boat or helicopter would rescue all of them. Bryan was still looking down at the Russian soldier and the red haired woman. Tala resembled his mother a lot. He had her red hair and baby blue eyes but seemed to have more of his father's personality.

"So in the morning we're heading to the docks?" Kevin asked.

"Yes." Max nodded.

It was decided. They'd head back to the caves and try to get some sleep, in the morning they'd go to the docks and try to find a lighthouse or maybe one of the maids or butlers. It was strange how all of them went missing on the night of the fire.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, so for those of you wanting an explination, please hear me out, you can disagree but this is just my point of view and what i noticed.<strong>

**In first season, Kai loses to Spencer who uses water.**

**In first season, Tala battles with Tyson and creates a giant ice crystal with himself and Tyson inside. This is an alternate dimension as stated in the anime.**

**In G-revolution Kai has improved. That's a given. Tyson, Max, Ray, all of them have improved greatly. However, everyone else is watered down.**

**Ok, so Tyson wins against a powerful Psycho Tala, A powerful Psycho Zeo, and a Powerful Psycho Brooklyn. Tala created an alternate dimension, Brooklyn created a black hole to swallow up everything. Tyson one. Why? Because he's the main character and the theme of beyblade is never giving up and you are never alone in your battles. You fight as a team. **

**The one thing I hate about G-revolution is that Tala is watered down, ooooh no, not just Tala. Everyone who isn't Tyson, Kai, Max, or Ray. Basically anyone who isn't a main character...Even Daichi plays better than most other characters.**

**Ok, over the years they've improved. except the other teams...what happened to the firece All Starz, White Tigers, and Demolition Boys? They were absent from V-force so we can assume they were training for that year...why are they so weak? oh and yes they are compared to their former selves.**

**has anyone noticed that in Grev the main characters are distributed throughout the teams? Max goes to the All Starz, Ray to the White Tigers, and Kai to the Blitzkrieg Boys while Tyson pairs with Daichi for the BBA Revolution, yet the Barthez Battalion can't win without cheating and F Dynasty get their asses kicked when it's not two on two? with the exception of when F Dynasty was paired up against Barthez Battalion. It's as if stating none of these teams stood a chance if one of the main characters weren't on their team? Come on! Tala was having trouble against Kenny! and he tied with Daichi in the championships!**

**Then BEGA shows up and completely dominates everyone like all the teams did in first season. I guarantee if grev continued BEGA would be getting their asses kicked every once and a while too while the main characters keep getting hyped up.**

**The other teams should have improved over those years too. So the Tala that I know and love is powerful. yes in the japanese episode he says he was toying with Kenny but he still ties with Daichi in the championships and does water the other teams down.**

**A match between Tala and Kai...it wouldn't be over in 5 seconds. It would be an amazing battle to watch, atleast I think so. Tala's ice up against Kai's fire...It would be truly amazing. I would love to see it actually take place! Despite how Grev waters down the teams and how the english dub is out to make Tala seem weaker than he is, especially when Max is talking about how strong BEGA is and says "Even Tala couldn't beat them" and what does Michael say? "Big deal. Tala's good, but he's not that good we've all beaten him at one time or another" and Emily "Michael's right" and everyone gets depressed...Ok...when? when have you all beaten him at one time or another? last time i checked you guys were fearing for Tyson's life when he went up against Tala. Last time I checked, Kenny nearly peed his pants when he had to fight Tala, and Tyson said he's the only one who could win the fight against Tala when it was Daichi's turn to fight in episode 14 of g-revolution.**

**Tala vs Kai would be intense. Both harbor some sort of resentment towards each other. Tala is not weak as G-revolution and the english version of G-revolution makes him seem. I don't think Tala would be able to beat Kai if they were to go up against each other but it would be an awesome fight to witness. So you guys know, this is my beef. G-rev had some bull shit moments. I know some of you feel the same way about that. Tala is strong, Kai is strong, to see the two of them go at it would be incredible. ok...my rant is done.**

**REVIEW!**


	10. Lost Item

**Hi! Ok, I made a video of Tala vs Kai :D you can view it here: **youtube . com/watch?v=FV33AHFW7o0

**I will try to upload one in better quality...so bear with me**

**It's from Tala's POV and I worked hard on it...I don't own sony vegas so I used Windows Movie Maker, so it's not the greatest but it's not the worst. So you can view it if those fascists at youtube don't block it. **

**Also for those of you interested you can also view why I think metal fushion sucks:** deviantart . com/gallery/#/d4dywdf

**and why the original beyblade we all know and love should continue: **deviantart . com/gallery/#/d4al5sh

**you guys know how to write a link, fanfic wouldn't let me post it so i put the spaces.**

**Don't feel obligated, it's there if you wish to humor me.**

**Review!**

* * *

><p>With the beybladers back in the cave, it was more stressful than before. No one could go back to sleep. Rick laid on the ground resting his eyes but was far from sleepy. Mariah was curled up next to Lee with her knees up to her chest as Lee tried comforting his sister. Mathilda kept wiping tears from her eyes as she sat next to Raul who looked like he would cry too. Julia couldn't tease him for it because she felt just as terrified as he did. Tyson was still in denial about Tala and Kai fighting each other. He just didn't believe they would do that too each other, especially at a time like this, they were both too smart for that.<p>

Ming-Ming was whimpering as she sat next to Crusher. Garland was leaning up against the wall and wondered what would have happened if he hadn't fell asleep. A sense of depression was in the air, this depression had even found Daichi. After a while, he just couldn't take it and exploded.

"Someone say something positive!" He yelled.

"Easier said than done." Kenny sighed.

"Not really easier said…I mean, at least we're still here." Ray said.

"Yeah…just so we can get destroyed later." Claude sighed.

Bryan had set up Tala's picture near a rock and kept glancing at it now and then. The night was miserable. Everyone was cold, tired, hungry, and scared. After a while, Ian's eyes began to sting and he tried rubbing them to ease it.

Daichi grumbled "Seriously guys! This is bumming me out! We'll be fine! If Boris has Kai and Tala, you know they'll fight back! They won't let Boris push them around."

Everyone perked up for a moment but the depression came back, Daichi was right….assuming the two blitzkrieg's were still alive. However, Brooklyn would fight back too. The fact Brooklyn hadn't returned meant he was truly stuck there. He couldn't get out for some reason, and the same case was now with the phoenix and wolf.

"Our best plan is to go to the docks." Michael said.

"Heh. None of us are sleeping; we might as well go now and get it over with." Rick said.

"It's too dark. We wouldn't be able to see anything; if someone went missing we wouldn't know it." Max suggested.

"Sitting here is driving me nuts." Rick sighed.

"We just need to hold out for a little longer…" Mariah nodded. "Just a little longer."

"I wouldn't worry too much about them." Spencer said.

"Really, why's that?" Rick asked.

"Brooklyn, Tala and Kai. They can take care of themselves. Right now Boris has three of the strongest blader's with him. It's like locking yourself in a tiger cage." Spencer said. "You think Tala would keel over so easily?"

"But we don't know what state they're in, they could be hurt." Mathilda said.

"But they might not be…" Tyson nodded. "He's right, why are we so worried? It's Brooklyn, Tala and Kai. They're probably making a breakout plan right now!"

"Yeah. Kai wouldn't go down without a fight." Max smiled.

"There's nothing more we can really do for them. We should focus on keeping us safe." Kevin said.

"Well we can't forget about them. We'll just have to go rescue those poor boys when we find a way out." Ming-Ming said.

Hilary instantly looked annoyed by Ming-Ming talking. They all started to feel a little better talking about how the three missing teammates would be ok and bust out at any time. Even though in the back of their minds they knew something terrible had happened, they tried to stay optimistic.

* * *

><p>Mr. Dickenson sat at his desk and was going over the list of teams entering the tournament.<p>

"Let's see, what type of tournament should it be this year?" He asked aloud. "First things first they'll be a preliminary round."

He continued looking through the list but something puzzled him. The PPB All Starz, Blitzkrieg Boys, White Tiger X, Barthez Battalion, BEGA, or F-Dynasty hadn't entered. The only team that had entered was the Majestics.

"How odd. I never thought so many teams would loose their competitive spirit. Not even Tyson." He blinked.

He figured he'd pay a visit to Tyson's house and ask him if he planned to sign up at one of the later dates, but that sounded so unlike the defending champion. Within a few minutes, Mr. Dickenson arrived at the Granger dojo. Grandpa jumped to the door in order of students. When he saw Mr. Dickenson, he looked surprised and invited him in.

"So what brings you here?" Grandpa asked,

"I was wondering when Tyson was going to sign up for the championships."

"When he gets back from that resort."

"Resort? He went on a trip so close to the finals."

"No, it's an island where they can train and chillax before the big shindig. You sent out the invitations, what are ya, getting old?"

"Invitations? The BBA doesn't have anything like that on an island." Mr. Dickenson looked surprised.

"Really? Well I remember them reading it out. They couldn't catch any Z's that night." grandpa said.

"Do you have it?"

"They were suppose to bring the invitation with them. I did keep the envelope though."

"May I see it?" he asked.

Grandpa nodded and got the envelope for Mr. Dickenson who inspected it. "I didn't send these. All letters we send out have the BBA insignia on the back."

"Well if you didn't send it then who did?"

"Hm. I need to make a phone call." Mr. Dickenson nodded. "We need to get this sorted out." he said.

"And find out where my little dude went." Grandpa nodded.

Mr. Dickenson made several calls, with each one he seemed to get more upset. He made calls to the BBA, Judy, Romero, Hiro, Tao, and attempted to get a hold of Tala's phone.

"Come on son, pick up." Mr. Dickenson said anxiously. "Tala…"

Grandpa watched his nervous expression and tilted his head. The phone rang and rang. No one picked up. No one was there to pick it up. Mr. Dickenson frowned and hung up the phone.

"It's the same story. They all got letters to that resort and Tala isn't answering his phone. He always answers for me." the man frowned. "He must have gone too. This is terrible!"

"So everyone got these letters to that resort?"

"Yes. It seems so." he nodded and gripped the handle on his cane. "We need to find them. I'll be heading back to the office and see what I can do. I'll track down every beyblading facility if I have to."

"Whoa hold on, I can't just sit here while my two little homies are in trouble!"

"I don't know what you could possibly do to help, but we have no choice. I'm rallying everyone. We've got kids missing." Mr. Dickenson said. "Oh! Yes! We shall alert the authorities. We'll put 120% effort into finding them!"

* * *

><p>Tala's body was floating in darkness. He couldn't see, hear, or feel anything. He was completely disconnected from his senses. His mind was alive however, wondering what had happened and where he was. Everything was quiet until he heard a familiar woman's voice.<p>

_Wake up…_

Tala's body felt like it was on fire as his senses started to return. He felt the burns on his chest, arm, and leg along with the pain in is throat and chest. The dark around him started to disappear the more his senses returned. He winced in disgust at the taste of blood in his mouth…it tasted like bile. He made a weak attempt to sit up. He growled and lightly touched the burn marks on his arm. Everything seemed like it was spinning and he was still sweating.

"Kai…" he said weakly as he looked around. He realized he was in a different place now; this wasn't the forest. He was locked behind bars in a cold brick room.

"Kai!" he managed to say louder but held his chest in pain.

There was no answer.

"Brooklyn?" he called but there was no answer.

He crawled on his hands and knees over to the bars, grasping them lightly he tried to see around but all there was a dark, empty hallway. Tala coughed and spit the blood out of his mouth, looking irritated and in pain.

"Kai! Brooklyn!" He yelled. "Someone answer me!"

His voice echoed throughout the hallway and returned to silence. Defeated he laid his forehead against the bars.

"Am I the only one here…? Uhg…so weak…" he closed his eyes, feeling tired and like there were weights on his body. He struggled to remember how the match ended, who had one him or Kai? He remembered blacking out before seeing which blade was the last one spinning. He figured that the reason he was here was that he had lost. Tala gritted his teeth and gripped the bars hard.

_So close… _he thought.

The wolf stayed with his hands gripping the bars and his forehead resting against them. He drifted into a light sleep for a few minutes. He heard footsteps clanging in the hallway and felt a sting across his face.

"Ahg!" Tala fell backwards and put his hand on his cheek.

"You ruined it Tala." Boris was frowning down at him.

"Boris." The wolf snarled.

"It was going to be simple, but you Tala…you messed everything up!" Boris hissed.

"Hehe…did I? What exactly did I mess up; you got what you wanted didn't you. Only you got two for the price of one this time."

"No. You don't get it do you. I had plans, PLANS! Things were suppose to go a certain way and you wrecked all of it!"

Tala pulled himself up and laughed "Too bad. Deal with it."

Boris' eyes narrowed. "Oh, don't worry I have another plan." he smiled and held Wolborg's bit in his hand.

"WOLBORG!" Tala tried to grab it but Boris pulled his hand away.

"This isn't yours. It's mine. I created it." Boris said bluntly.

Tala growled.

"I lent it to you when you were in the Abbey. You were worthy of it then but not anymore."

"You don't know the first thing about Wolborg. You'll never understand how to use it."

"Oh, like you're one to talk about understanding bit-beasts. You couldn't even connect your spirit with Wolborg's."

"Because that's not what bit-beasts are for. You don't know the connection Wolborg and I have."

Boris laughed "And when did this connection come about? You used Wolborg as a weapon, you were both just my weapons!"

"Not anymore." Tala frowned. "Maybe back then, but not now. You were the one who lied to us. You didn't care about our well-being. You used and abused us. You only saw your vision, and that's why you always fail. I'll take you down as many times as it takes."

"Is that right?" Boris smiled. "Well. Because you ruined my plans…I have a very special plan for you."

"Where's Brooklyn? Where's Kai?" Tala ordered.

"You'll see them soon enough. I'm positive they'll be sure to thank you for everything." he grinned.

Tala frowned. "What were you trying to get Kai to do?"

"It's simple really. He wants power. It's something he can't deny…he'll sacrifice everyone for that power. Your battle is proof isn't it?"

"What about Voltaire? It was his voice on the phone. He was the one who talked to Kai."

"You were always a bright child." Boris nodded. "I have no interest in telling you our plans with Kai. I believe you'll figure it out. But by the time you do…it'll be to late." he flashed a threatening smile at Tala before walking away.

"Boris!" Tala yelled. "Don't you dare walk away from me! BORIS!" he snapped. "What are you planning to do?"

Boris smiled as he listened to Tala's yelling. He left the hallway and closed the door. The red head coughed into his hand and held his chest.

"What's wrong with me…" he winced. "Stupid fire." he coughed.

He leaned up against the bars and stared up at the ceiling helplessly. He was racking his brain for ideas of Boris' plans. Wolborg had been taken from him, and he wanted it back.

"Why is Voltaire here…?" he asked himself "Where's Brooklyn…"

Tala sat there concentrating, trying to figure it all out. He was sure that Kai would be the main target for Voltaire, well the rest of them were at Boris' mercy.

"Come on Tala…think" he said to himself.

He looked over his shoulder and saw other cells. It was built for multiple people and yet, he was the only one there. Brooklyn had disappeared before Tala did so whatever Boris' plan was…Brooklyn had a head start. His next thought was on Kai. He didn't know if the two-toned blader was still conscious after the fight or had fainted as well. Tala tried to concentrate on what could have happened but the pain from the burns were too much. He couldn't focus, was sweating and sure he had a fever. On top of all that, he was exhausted beyond all reason. He held his burnt arm and arched forward, trying to find a position that was comfortable, but it was no use. The wolf thought back to the rest of his friends and teammates. He wondered if they were doing okay.

The sound of dripping water woke Tala from his daydream and reminded him where he was. In the corner was a sink that didn't look too dirty. He walked over to it and turned the water on, at first the water was dark but turned it's normal color.

_How stupid to have a sink in here…what's the point of being prisoner if you get luxuries like this. _He thought and held his arm under the cold water. He relaxed as the pain was lessened.

_Guess I shouldn't complain… _

Tala gathered some water in his hands and splashed some in his face, afterwards he ripped a piece of cloth of his sleeve and held it under the water. Once it was drenched, he used it to ease the burn on his chest and collar bone. As the pain was eased, he sighed in relief and could think more clearly. Instead of sitting and trying to find out Boris' plan, he was going to break out and find the others, tearing Boris' base down with him. Tala walked over to the bars and looked out into the hallway. He knew cameras were there too, he just had to find them…then he could move freely.

* * *

><p>When morning came, the remaining teams made their way to the dock and checked up and down the shore.<p>

"No good…" Kevin said as he sat on Gary's shoulders and looked out over the ocean.

"Mystel! See anything?" Garland yelled.

Mystel was perched high in a tree and looked around. "Sorry, I can't see anything. No power lines, no towers, no nothing."

"How about a lighthouse?" Crusher asked.

"Sorry. There's nothing."

Tyson sighed and was standing at the edge of the dock. The sea air blew in his face and rustled his hair. His mind went back to the friends he had lost. Already Boris' plan was taking a toll on him, he wondered who would be next. Brooklyn, Kai, and Tala were gone and he had no idea if they were hurt…or worse.

"Don't worry Tyson." Kenny put his hand on the champion's shoulder. "I'm sure they're okay."

"Don't worry? DON'T WORRY!" Tyson snapped and yanked himself away from Kenny. "How can you tell me not to be worried? Boris is going to take all my friends away and I can't do anything about it!"

Kenny stumbled back and held his laptop to his chest. "I know but…you can't get upset about it-"

"Can't get upset about it?"

"Tyson!" Hilary snapped "Leave him alone."

Tyson glared at Hilary "You mind your own business. You're the only one who doesn't need to be worried, you can't even beyblade!"

The brunette girl looked flabbergasted before frowning. "So what? I'm still important to this team! I could beyblade if I really wanted to!"

"Oh right…like in the dining room?" Ming-Ming asked.

"Well I was the one who found the camera!" Hilary yelled at her.

"Actually, Tala was the one who saw it." Mariah said.

"Well I broke it so he could see it."

"Because of your terrible beyblading skills." Ming-Ming shrugged.

"Shut up! Who asked you!"

"Uhm…let's just try taking a deep breath." Max said and tried to diffuse the situation.

Rick laughed a little "Back off Max, it's obvious that they're all scared. They're attacking each other because they know if we're attacked they can't fight."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Lee frowned.

"Lee…" Ray warned him.

Rick smiled and went on about how everyone was afraid of Boris and were taking it out on each other like children. The others jumped to their own defense. Soon everyone was arguing with each other. It escalated from some frustration to a full on mob. It was full of denial, anger, fear, and desperation. None of them meant what they were saying to each other but it couldn't be helped. They were all too emotionally disturbed. The Blitzkrieg Boys had the best grasp on the situation but that wasn't much. Without their leader to follow, they couldn't agree on anything or make a plan. Spencer had the calmest demeanor of them and tried to get Bryan and Ian to quit bickering with each other.

"Everyone, QUIET!" Garland yelled.

No one would listen. They were all too far gone to listen to reason at the moment. The more the group argued made it easier for another one of Boris' agents to sneak up on them, or someone to go missing in all the chaos. Garland helpless looked up at Mystel who was still in the tree. Mystel nodded and jumped high into the air and launched his beyblade at the crowd.

Poseidon landed in the middle of the crowd and caused a disturbance. Everyone jumped back and there was silence throughout him or her. Mystel's beyblade returned to his hand and he landed next to Garland.

"Thanks."

"No problem." Mystel smiled.

Garland looked at his teammates. "Look guys, we're all tired, hungry, and afraid. Everyone here is worried…either for ourselves or for our friends. We can't just sit here fighting…it's not helping us or the ones we lost. We need to figure out what to do next!"

Tyson frowned and looked down. Garland was right. He couldn't get upset and let everyone else down. The champion felt that it was his fault the riot started and that Tala and Kai had gone missing.

"Yeah…Sorry Kenny…sorry Hil." He sighed. "Garland makes a good point, we can't give up."

"We're out of options…" Kevin shrugged. "We've searched these shores, there's no boats or anything…no shops, what do we do?"

"We can't go back into the forest and look for Boris base…we'd be wasting time." Michael tossed the baseball into his glove.

The crowd fell quiet. They felt horrible for yelling at each other and over all foolish. They couldn't lose hope just yet…they had to keep trying. Mystel couldn't see a lighthouse from the trees and there wasn't anything along the shores.

"Do you think the airport and the ship we were on was also Boris' doing? I mean, he had a fake airplane and fake ship drop us off?" Raul asked.

"Maybe…" Aaron nodded.

"I wouldn't put it passed him." Miguel crossed his arms.

"I have an idea." Emily said "Though I don't know if it'll work."

"Better than nothing." Mathilda nodded.

"What do you have Emzy?" Eddie asked.

"Don't call me Emzy…" She said and opened up her laptop.

Kenny walked up and seemed interested in what she was up to. He wondered if she had an internet connection.

"I was thinking…if we could just get to a higher area, my laptop may catch on to some sort of signal."

"I doubt it could Emily." Chief said. "If it can't in such a wide area I don't see why getting higher would work."

"Well, Boris may have something here that blocks our signal so we can't set out an SOS. If we get to a higher point we may be out of his range and lock on to something." She explained.

"I don't understand all this technical hoo-ha but what the heck! Let's do it!" Daichi smiled.

"May, might, it's possible." Gary said "Better than impossible."

"Where's the highest point?" Mariah tilted her head.

"There." Mystel pointed up to a large mountain in the distance.

Ming-Ming's jaw dropped "That's so far."

"It's the only chance we have Ming-Ming…you'd better keep up." Garland said.

Ming-Ming whimpered a little.

"What can we lose?" Julia asked "I'm up for it."

The others nodded. If they could get up there and get some sort of signal…their options would multiply. Process of elimination…the docks were no good, now it was off to the mountain. If they couldn't get a signal then they'd just brainstorm for another idea. They couldn't give up, they couldn't stop moving.

* * *

><p>Brooklyn struggled to open his eyes. He tried to move but something was restraining him. His arms and legs were tied down to a table.<p>

"What the…?" he struggled against them but couldn't break free. The dizziness had left him and his vision returned but the confusion stayed. The Bega blader lifted his head up and looked around him, he was in some type of laboratory…

A moving figured in the corner of his eye made him jump. He was a bit relieved to see it was only a scientist.

"Sir, he's awake." The man said into a headset.

"You know what to do." Boris voice said.

Brooklyn frowned. He had thought seeing Boris was just a dream and being restrained….he had hoped it was just his bed sheets.

"Yes sir." the man said, almost robotically.

The scientist walked to the head of the table Brooklyn was retrained to and started to roll it along. Brooklyn struggled more against the restraints.

"Where are you taking me? Hey! Come on!" He yelled.

"Be quiet." the man ordered.

Brooklyn was rolled into a huge room with a very high ceiling. For the most part the ground was level but had some dips here and there. It was dark, musty, and cold. His green eyes studied the wall and ceiling. There were beyblade marks everywhere.

"Some kind of…training room…?" He asked himself but hoped for an answer from the scientist.

The scientist said nothing and put a beyblade and a launcher at Brooklyn's side then walked away. The Bega blader was confused even more. How was he going to beyblade with his arms and legs tied?

Once the scientist left the room, a voice was heard echoing in the room. It was Boris' voice. He had speakers in the ceiling so his voice could be heard all over the room.

"Welcome Brooklyn, It's my pleasure to say you'll be the first in my little experiment." he said.

Brooklyn's eyes narrowed. There was a snapping sound and the restraints released him. He quickly sat up and rubbed his wrists.

"Experiment…?" he said to himself.

"Yes. It's an honor really. You'll be the first to give a demonstration." The purple haired man's voice was heard.

"If I'm not interested?"

"I'm sure you'll come around." Boris hissed.

Two double doors opposite of where Brooklyn entered started to open. He squinted his eyes to try and see better. It was a human figure not much bigger than himself. It was male, wore red and black clothes, and had long feathery black hair, pale skin, and bright glowing green eyes. The clothes were cloak-like with red accessories such as an armored breastplate and a belt with armor plates covering his legs. Like Artemis, he was synthetic looking but didn't have an emotionless face. The face looked sunken in and had a demented expression. A smile revealed sharp, jagged, teeth.

Brooklyn felt his body freeze in fear as he looked at the boy walking closer to him. The boy looked…almost like a king with all his accessories, the way he moved, everything to the last detail screamed 'elegance' 'emperor' 'better than you.'

"…Z…Zeus…?" Brooklyn finally spoke with disbelief.

A small chuckle came from his opponent as he readied the crossbow launcher on his arm.

The Bega blader blinked "What….experiment…?" he asked himself.

Zeus launched the beyblade directly at Brooklyn who ducked. He didn't know what was going on. It was all too fast. A resort to train at, the strange girl, waking up in a cell, Boris, now Zeus? It was like a dream, some twisted, incredibly vivid dream. Brooklyn was absent when the others found the cameras, and was kidnapped before he had any information about Boris. Out of everyone,…he was the most unfortunate.

The blade doubled back and tried to hit Brooklyn again. He jumped out of the way and grabbed the beyblade and launcher on the table.

"This is ridiculous…" he frowned and launched the beyblade at Zeus.

* * *

><p>Artemis watched, through cold eyes, Brooklyn trying to fight Zeus. She watched the fight on a monitor as it was being recorded. Finally, they'd understand what it's like to be used for a pointless game.<p>

"Boris. Wasn't he suppose to fight others before facing Zeus?" She asked.

"He's already to the point of exhaustion. Don't worry, he'll break. Your attack did enough damage…he's ready now." Boris told her.

Artemis nodded as she watched, "So afterwards…what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"With them. When you drive them to that limit."

"Oh." Boris nodded "Humans have spirits just as you do. Only…we have physical bodies to go with it and it is very dormant."

"Is that the other research you were talking about?" Artemis asked. "Why you also agreed to help me?"

"Yes." he lied.

"You're a very dangerous man Boris…"

"Not at all. I just dare to dream beyond the limits of our taboo society. These children have yet to awaken their true 'beyblading spirits' as they call it. Think about it Artemis, if they're using their own spirits to battle they would no longer wish to play because it wouldn't be fun. They want to exploit the sacred beast's power for their games and call it a team effort. They don't know the torture or the entrapment…let's give them a taste of it."

Artemis was silent as she listened to Boris' words. She agreed with everything he said. Humans had spirits just as the beasts did. Why couldn't the humans just use their own spirits to fight? She smiled a little. This Boris was a dangerous human and she didn't trust him completely…but she found him different than the other humans. She agreed with him more than she had ever agreed with a human before.

* * *

><p>"Zeus!" Brooklyn yelled. "Attack!"<p>

The new black beyblade he acquired did nothing special, it attacked, but bounced off the other black beyblade. The Bega blader gritted his teeth. This blade wasn't his. It was true that Zeus was the humanoid figure in front of him who found pleasure in toying with him. Zeus watched Brooklyn's frustration grow.

"Don't you know who I am?" Brooklyn called desperately. "Zeus!"

His voice didn't reach the pale figure attacking him. Zeus smiled and crouched a little, charging at Brooklyn. The two black beyblades crashed into each other as the Bega blader felt razors cutting him. He stumbled back and was shaking. Blood trickled from his fingertips and onto the floor. It looked like he had been swiped by a claw.

Brooklyn felt his heart beat racing, felt the pain of the scratches, felt his energy depleting. Honestly, he wasn't in his right mind. He couldn't grasp the fact he was fighting his own bit-beast. It was crazy!

The battle continued on and on. Brooklyn fell to his knees and started shaking. His body was already weakened at the start of the fight but now his muscles refused to move. Whenever he tried to stand up his legs would give out and he would fall again.

"He's almost to his breaking point…" Boris said.

"What if nothing happens?" Artemis asked.

Boris was quiet and watched the screen intently.

"Come on, fight me! Maaaaaaaster!" Zeus laughed.

Brooklyn frowned and glared at him.

Zeus towered over him with a big grin. "You should fight back! You're sooooo weak!" His voice fluctuated up and down.

"You…can't…possibly be Zeus…" Brooklyn frowned.

"Don't like what you see huh? Well…this is me."

"It's not…"

"Heh. You didn't believe we had our own personalities did you? You're all so naïve…be careful…it could kill you!" Zeus smiled, revealing sharp fangs once more.

"Something's wrong here…" Brooklyn said to himself. "This…isn't right. Zeus is…different."

Brooklyn felt himself fading away like he was going to sleep.

"No, when we were locked in the beyblades we behaved how you wanted. We didn't have a choice. Now I'm free and can do as I please!"

"No…this can't be!" He yelled. The cold dark water pulled Brooklyn beneath the surface.

"I'm what's known as the king of darkness…did you think that was just an attack? By mere coincidence?" Zeus smiled.

Brooklyn was pulled beneath the surface now, isolate, still, unable to fight anymore. His thoughts were active though. This Zeus was not the one he fought alongside with. Something was changed about him. He refused to believe that it was real, Boris had to have done something to Zeus… he did something to change him into this…this thing! No. It was all a farce.

Once the darkness faded the Bega blader hit the ground. His body paralyzed from the attack and he was losing consciousness once again. The events of the Justice 5 match played in his mind. Kai, Tyson, his teammates, the invitation, the mysterious girl, the bright light, Boris, Zeus…

It was truly like a dream. Suddenly, he felt something inside him raise to the surface. It felt like fire. His eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly, a dark aura surrounding him.

"Not…over…yet…" Brooklyn forced himself to his feet. His body moved like a zombie. His eyes lacked life and were glazed over, leaving only a shadowed green color. He had turned a pale grey…like a corpse.

Artemis looked taken back for a moment as he saw the spirit awake in Brooklyn.

"Now!" Boris yelled into a microphone.

Bright lights turned on in the stadium as Brooklyn was hit with a tranquilizer. It was a surprise attack that dropped him immediately.

Zeus walked back from where he came as the scientists hurried Brooklyn out of there.

"What was that for?" Artemis asked.

"To preserve his state. He'll be taken to a lab and have tests run on him, we're going to draw his spirit out more." Boris explained.

"Draw it out more?"

"Yes. What you saw was merely a light taste."

"I see…" she nodded. "What will we do about those fake sacred spirits?"

"All in good time." Boris waved the subject away.

"I want to know now."

"Well…we'll do the same…but I don't know what sort of effect it may have." He confessed.

"You truly do not care what happens to your own kind?" she asked.

"That shouldn't matter to you."

"It doesn't. I was just curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat, as they say." The purple haired man smiled.

"Hm…" Artemis crossed her arms and looked at Boris.

* * *

><p>Voltaire sat with a laptop in front of him as he watched the recorded battle between Tala and Kai. In a way he watched in contempt.<p>

"When Kai?" he asked. "When will you give me what I desire…?"

A few feet away was a cell with thick glass instead of bars. In it was a simple white bed that the two-toned hair blader was resting on. The room was specially heated in an attempt to raise Kai's body temperature.

"All this power…yet you do nothing with it!" Voltaire yelled.

Kai's eyes slowly started to open and he looked around. He had almost gained the feeling in his hands and feet back but overall he felt ok…still a little cold. Once he saw Voltaire he jumped up and frowned.

"Let me out!" he demanded.

"That'll kill you. Your temperature is still too low…It was a stupid stunt almost losing to him." Voltaire turned the laptop around and showed him a piece of his battle with Tala.

Kai's eyes narrowed. He never thought it would be recorded.

"Where is he…?" Kai scanned the room. "Where's Tala?"

"He's in a different holding cell. Not that it's any concern of yours."

Kai frowned. What did he care? It's not like Tala was his friend or anything but he couldn't help but worry. The memory of that battle replayed over and over again in his mind. His red-headed captain tried so hard to stop him from going back to Voltaire and Boris.

"Now. Once you're ready you'll be released from there and will head to the lab." Voltaire said.

Kai scoffed.

"From there you'll get your chance to fight Tyson."

"Why can't I just go once I get out of this thing?"

"Because there's a gift waiting for you."

"A gift? Hah! You don't even get me anything for my birthday, or if you do it's never for me…always for you!" Kai yelled.

Tala's words echoed in his mind once more.

"Don't talk to your grandfather that way." Voltaire said sternly "You WILL do this Kai. You already agreed to it."

Kai bit his lip and stayed frowning. He laid back down in bed and turned his back to his grandfather, pulling the covers up over his head in an act of defiance.

Voltaire watched him and turned back to the laptop.

Kai searched his clothes in an attempt to find Dranzer…but it was pointless. His blade had already broke to pieces in the fight.

_He was stronger than I thought…I never expected that from Tala…_

* * *

><p>Mr. Dickenson sat with Judy, Romero, Tao, grandpa, and Mr. Tate. They all had worried looks on their face.<p>

"My little homie better not be getting into too much trouble…" Granpa said.

"The police are doing all they can…we just have to sit and wait." Mr. Dickenson tried to reassure them.

"Oh man, it's hopeless…all we can do is sit here…there must be something we can do." Romero yawned.

"I've searched all the BBA records for registered resorts all over the world…there's none with our missing bladers there." Judy said. "Oh…how could this happen?"

The group of adults sighed when they hit a dead end. The police had no luck either and tried sending out radio and T.V. broadcasts of the missing bladers all over the world. It soon became a worldwide problem involving police from different countries. Detectives were trying their best to find any leads but there was nothing. It was strange that a group so large could just vanish…without a trace.

* * *

><p>The teams made it to the large mountain like they wanted, but a new problem soon came up…how were they going to get up there? It was too dangerous for all of them to just start climbing. Mystel, the most acrobatic out of them all volunteered to do it.<p>

"I can reach it in no time." he said.

"I don't think it's a good idea to split up." Mathilda said.

"She's right…but…I think it'll be alright." Mariah said "I mean, who could get up there besides Mystel?"

"Still, should we take that risk?" Max asked.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. If they can't catch me, they can't do anything to me and trust me…they won't be able to catch me." Mystel nodded "Tell me what to do Emily."

"Here, get to the highest point and if this light turns green we have a signal…send an e-mail to Mr. Dickenson right away if we have internet access." Emily explained.

"No problem." Mystel smiled and took the laptop from her.

"Be careful!" Ming-Ming cried as Mystel effortlessly hopped from rock to rock, up the mountain.

"Now we wait…" Tyson said.

"I hate waiting…" Daichi pouted on a rock.

Kenny sighed and opened his laptop. The others watched Mystel's figure disappear in the distance. This was their last hope…

Mystel jumped swiftly. When he made it to the top of the mountain he was breathing heavily and sweating.

"What a work out." he smiled and sat down, opening up Emily's laptop. He waited for the light to turn green, it was a yellow flashing light so it was trying to find a signal.

"Don't turn red…" he begged.

* * *

><p><strong>OK, All for this chapter. Anonymous reviews welcome.<strong>

**Review please!**


	11. Condemned

**Ok so here you guys go. I really really hope you enjoy this chapter. Please let me know with a REVIEW! I would love some feedback from you.**

**REVIEW**

**ANONYMOUS REVIEWS WELCOME.**

* * *

><p>Mystel watch the flashing light. He hoped it would find a signal soon and was beginning to worry about his friends at the base of the mountain. The light finally got stable as Mystel hoped the next color would be green.<p>

"No good…it's just staying one color…" He sighed and looked around, picking up the laptop, and walked over to a tall tree.

He quickly jumped from branch to branch until he made it to the top of the tree and held the laptop above his head. The light started flashing rapidly and turned green.

"Yeah!" Mystel yelled.

The blonde slowly lowered the laptop, once he saw the light was still green he smiled and opened up the internet browser. It only took a few minutes but when he got to the e-mail, he paused.

"Let's see…" he started typing.

_Mr. Dickenson. HELP! We're on an island somewhere. Boris is behind it all. It was suppose to be some beyblade resort that the BBA invited us too before the championships. It's a nightmare. Tala, Kai, and Brooklyn have already gone missing. Boris has them. We're running out of time until more go missing. He has new bladers working for him. Help us! It took a plane and a boat ride to get here if that information helps. Please, this is not a joke. -Mystel._

Mystel nodded in approval and clicked 'send'. After he sent the message he wondered if he should wait for a reply or go down to tell the others he was able to contact Mr. Dickenson. After some pondering, the blonde decided to wait for a reply.

Down below the other's were getting anxious.

"You think he's all right?" Mariah asked.

"I don't know…"Ray shrugged.

The mountain was too high for any of them other than Mystel to climb. It was comforting knowing that only Mystel could climb in but on the other hand, they were worried Boris had a blader that could reach the top. All waited impatiently for Mystel to appear. After 20 minutes, they saw his figure coming down the mountain. Garland squinted and shielded his eyes from the sun. Mystel landed on the ground in front of the group and stood up with his carefree smile.

"Well?" Emily urged.

"I contacted someone." Mystel smiled and opened the laptop. He left the internet browser up; even though the internet connection was lost, the page would stay up as long as he didn't refresh the page.

"Sweet you got a reply?" Daichi yelled enthusiastically.

The group leaned forward to read the e-mail together. Mariah took the liberty of reading it aloud.

"Don't worry. I'm on my way kids, just hang on a little longer!" she read.

"Try to get to a landmark, a lighthouse, a tower, or docks, something that will be easy to spot." Garland read the rest.

"Near a lighthouse or something…" Julia said, "We saw one didn't we?"

"Yeah, the docks I think would be too wide open to be." Mathilda nodded.

"I can't wait until Mr. Dickenson gets here!" Kenny yelled enthusiastically.

Tyson just frowned a little "What about Kai and the others?"

"We haven't forgot about them Tyson, but what can we do? When Mr. D get's here he'll be able to help way more than we can right now." Max explained to him.

Tyson sighed and nodded, knowing Max was right. The thought of what may be happening to his friends was just an unbearable thought.

"It'll be tough getting all the way over there…" Miguel nodded and looked in the direction of the lighthouse.

Spencer shook his head "Boris doesn't make anything easy. He may already have cameras all around here. That e-mail may not have been from Mr. Dickenson at all."

The group was taken back by Spencer's statement.

"No, it had to have been from Mr. D. How would Boris even be able to send an e-mail back to us?" Daichi looked confused.

The rest nodded in agreement.

"Boris is clever, but he wouldn't have been able to receive our e-mail is it was addressed to Mr. Dickenson." Michael said.

Emily nodded "Even using his internet server, he wouldn't be able to see it." she took her laptop back from Mystel.

"The signal was hard to find too. I had to climb a tree to get it." he shrugged, stretching his legs out. "It took a while for a reply too; don't you think if it was Boris we'd get an immediate reply?"

"Maybe, but you can't be too careful with Boris." Ian said.

The Barthez Battalion agreed.

"Well, we'll just have to be extra careful." Hilary frowned.

"We should get going then." Kevin smiled.

"Yeah. I'm hungry…" Gary nodded "I hope he'll bring food."

"Yeah, that'd be great!" Daichi yelled.

The other's couldn't help but agree; even the Blitzkrieg Boys were hungry. How many days had they been there? It felt like centuries. When had Brooklyn disappeared? When had Kai and Tala gone missing? When had they arrived? All the time had started to blend. Mr. Dickenson was coming to rescue them. Their hearts were filled with joy but worry at the same time.

There were so many what ifs. What if Mr. Dickenson didn't get to them in time? What if more of them went missing. What if there's no way to save those who were already lost. What if Boris got to them first? So many thoughts raced through the exhausted, hungry, and scared beybladers' minds. Once again, they trudged through the island's forest, heading for the lighthouse.

Unlike before, they now had to stop every half hour to an hour for a few minutes of rest. Kenny complained about his feet hurting and about dehydration while Daichi told him to stop whining.

"Hey, you're falling behind." Ian yelled back at Tyson and his team.

"Give us a break!" Tyson snapped.

"Hurry up. The fast we move the faster we get there." Ray looked at him, out of breath.

Mariah let her hair down and combed her fingers through her hair, making a disgusted face. It hadn't been washed in a while and smelled like smoke from the fire. She sighed and put it back in its ponytail.

The lighthouse appeared to be getting larger as they walked towards it. They were almost there. Suddenly, no one was tired, no one felt any hunger and they began running towards the lighthouse.

Garland shielded his eyes from the sun as he gazed upon the lighthouse. It looked old. This lighthouse had existed for a while.

"This is strange…" Garland frowned.

"What is…?" Raul asked.

"The lighthouse looks old. I thought it would have looked new."

"Why…?"

"I don't know. Maybe I thought since Boris ran the island everything would be new…?"

"He didn't create the island." Hilary said.

"Yeah…I don't know why I thought that…" Garland crossed his arms.

"That's not a bad point." Bryan said as they made there way down the rocks to find the door.

"What isn't?" Spencer asked.

"I wouldn't put it past Boris to create an island but I think that's giving him too much credit. I don't think any of us gave too much thought about the island already being here. He had to rent it or buy it or something." Bryan shrugged.

"Rent it…? So he rents an island for a new evil plot, if I have any respect for him even as an enemy it's gone now." Rick said.

"Well I don't know! However, if he created the island why even put a lighthouse on it? It'll just help boats find their way here."

"I think it would look odd for an island not to have a lighthouse."

"Maybe. But why go through the trouble of making it look all old and worn out and not buy a new one?"

"You lost me…"

"The lighthouse is old; this island has been here a long time. It has to be on a map." Bryan said.

"So what does that have to do with anything?" Tyson asked.

"So, it's registered you morons! The lighthouse is there for any shipwrecked captain, this island was occupied at some point it still might be. We haven't been over the entire surface of this thing yet. Mr. Dickenson won't have any problem finding us."

"Ok, I get it." Rick nodded.

"Me too-" Tyson lost his grip and fell.

"Tyson!" Miguel reached out to catch him but missed by an inch.

Tyson frantically moved his arms up and down like he was trying to fly.

"Nononononononononononono!" He shouted in one breath.

He landed on a rock ledge with a thud and laid there motionless.

"Tyson!" Hilary cried worriedly.

"Tyson? Oh no! Tyson?" Kenny yelled down at him.

Tyson didn't respond.

The group tried to hurry down to him to see if he was all right. Mystel leaped off the ledge and landed next to Tyson.

"Is he ok?" Daichi called.

Mystel looked up at them and nodded "Yeah, just got the wind knocked out of him."

Ian jumped down on the rock ledge, then Bryan and Spencer.

"Are you kidding me?" Bryan quirked an eyebrow at Tyson.

"Hey…It….hurt….." Tyson breathed and tried to sit up.

"He's fine!" Spencer yelled up at the others when they finally made it down. Hilary and Kenny rushed over to Tyson to make sure if he was ok while Daichi called him a whiner and a jerk for making them worry.

"Should have figured nothing was wrong…" Ray teased a little.

"Not….funny…" Tyson gasped.

"We're here." Claude pointed at the door just below.

"Maybe…six feet further." Mathilda nodded.

"Let's get going…" Max said and helped Tyson up.

"Don't fall again, Tyson." Daichi said and helped him walk.

* * *

><p>Boris watched the group make it to the lighthouse, an evil smirk crossing his lips. He thought about how much he loved children; so young, so naïve, so easy to manipulate, and so optimistic.<p>

"How is Brooklyn doing?" Boris asked into the headset.

"Stable." The voice said back.

"Is he ready for battle?"

"Almost sir, it won't be long now."

"Good. I've gathered them in one place for now. We don't have long before they figure out their precious Mr. Dickenson won't come." Boris said.

"Yes sir. Shall we start Tala's treatment?"

"Yes. Go right ahead. We don't want to fall behind schedule." Boris smirked.

"Yes sir." the voice said.

Boris looked up at the screens before looking at his computer crew.

"Next time they try something like that disconnect our router. We don't want to keep re-routing there messages." He said sternly.

"Don't worry sir. That laptop will be out of commission. The virus has been successfully installed."

"Excellent. Keep up the good work." he said before turning his back and walking out of the computer lab.

As he walked he passed a room where he heard Artemis and Zeus' voice. Boris paused for a moment and eavesdropped on their conversation. It was nothing interesting. All it consisted of was Artemis convincing Zeus to fight along side her and free the other sacred beasts trapped inside the beyblades. She used poetic words to try to sway him, saying things about "it's our world" and "humans have destroyed us." wanting Zeus to trust Boris as she had come to trust him. There didn't seem to be any reluctance on Zeus' side either. The purple haired man smiled. He knew certain sacred beasts had grown much attached to their masters; so he made sure to distort their memories just enough to make a difference in their attitude.

The man sighed in content, continued walking, and met with his former boss, Voltaire.

* * *

><p>Tala sat in his cell with his back against the brick wall. He was sweating and out of breath. The pain in his throat and chest were still constant but died down significantly. The burns on his body had not ceased to ache, and he was sure his fever was rising again. The wolf stared helplessly at the lock on the bars, which was covered in scuffmarks. Tala had found a broken piece of brick and tried breaking the lock with it for the past few hours, all to no avail. All he could do was sit there and recover, or until Boris came to finish him off.<p>

The wolf closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. He felt himself fading off to sleep but a sudden clang made him jump. Tala crawled over to the bars and looked into the hallway. He heard multiple footsteps getting louder. Gritting his teeth together, he frantically tried to think of a plan. They were there for him; he knew it.

The guards turned the corner and stopped at his cell. The first man waved to the others and began to unlock the door.

"He's unconscious," the first man said.

Once the door was open, the other guards walked into Tala's cell and stood around him in a circle. Tala was laying face down on the floor with his hand lightly gripping the brick. The tallest guard looked at the lock and sneered.

"He tried to break the lock."

"In his condition…no wonder it didn't work. Help me get him up." The first man said and grabbed Tala's right arm.

The other guards helped lift his torso off the ground. Once he was hoisted up off the floor he shot his arm out like lightning and grabbed the key ring off the first man's belt simultaneously striking the other guard in the face and making him fall back. In a fraction of a second, the wolf ran out of the cell and kicked the door closed, not giving them time to react.

The tallest guard grabbed the bars and shook them. "Brat!"

"Open this door!" another guard yelled.

Tala laughed and twirled the ring around his finger.

"Bet you guys didn't see THAT on your cameras" he smirked evilly and motioned up into the corner of the cell. The lock wasn't the only thing Tala threw a brick at.

"Send Boris my regards." Tala ran with a wave.

The man slammed his fists against the bars. "Someone call for backup! We can't let Boris know about this!"

Another guard frantically nodded and got out his radio. He sent an alert for an escapee that was heading down the north corridor.

"We're incapacitated! The brat locked us in a cell-don't ask how! Just get him! Don't notify Boris, just handle it!" He ordered.

Tala maneuvered through the corridors, staying in the shadows and out of the cameras sight. He pressed his back against the stonewall and peeked around the corner. Up in the corner was a camera with a blinking red light.

"Old habits…" Tala sighed and looked down the other corridors. He quickly thought back to the Abbey and tried to remember the layout, of course, he didn't think this new facility would have the exact same layout but it would be familiar. Tala jumped at the sound of footsteps running down the hallway and a jumble of voices.

"No…" he frowned.

The red head bit his lip and ran into the other corridor. He tried his best to escape the view of the camera and continuing to run. Within a few seconds, Tala stopped and slouched against the wall, breathing heavily. He grasped his chest and frowned.

_What the heck is wrong with me? _He thought.

The pain wasn't as extreme as it was before but would start up any time he strained his body. At least the pain had lessened but Tala wasn't helping his fever or pain by running all over the place…not like he had a choice though. The footsteps were gone now. Again, Tala cautiously moved forward.

"I need to find Brooklyn…" Tala whispered to himself. He grasped the keys tightly in his hand to prevent them from jingling and searched room to room. He used his old knowledge of the Abbey to figure out where everything was as he searched. Brooklyn hadn't been in any of the holding cells so he had to be somewhere else in Boris' domain.

Tala walked along the wall until he came to a slightly ajar door with light pouring out of it. Inside was a dark empty room with a large window on the far wall. He crouched behind the door and snuck into the room, staying low to the ground. On the other side of the window was a laboratory with scientists walking around with clipboards. Further back in the lab was an incubation tube with Brooklyn inside it.

Tala hid under one of the tables and looked into the window. His eyes widened when he saw Brooklyn.

"What…in the world is Boris trying to do…?" Tala asked himself, horrified.

Brooklyn was slouching forward floating in the green liquid surrounding him. Wires were attached to his head, torso, and legs. His skin was a pale color and his face was distorted in a large demented grin. Brooklyn's wide, lifeless green eyes stared into space as his smiling expression burned its way into Tala's memory.

The wolf didn't know what to think. Boris was doing something knew and even more twisted than anything he had done before. His mouth and throat were dry, his heart felt as though it would leap out, his hands were clammy, and his breath was shaky as options raced through his mind. He had to get out of there. They all had to get off that island…

Tala crawled out from under the table but couldn't go any farther. Something grabbed his legs and made him call out. Below him, the ground had transformed into a thick, black, bubbling muck that began pulling him under.

"What?" Tala screamed, panicked.

He grabbed for solid ground but arms appeared out of the black muck and grabbed his arms.

The scientists who heard the commotion rushed into the room, taken back by the sight.

"Get off me!" Tala yelled.

"You…are….all…very bad at your job." Zeus sighed as he stood at the door Tala had entered.

"Z-Zeus…" One of the scientists said in a surprised tone.

Tala fought his way out of the muck, trying to crawl out; he broke off the arms holding him but more appeared and held him in place.

"Ah!" He yelled.

"A little human gave you this much trouble?" Zeus asked and walked towards Tala.

"Well…you're welcome." he grinned at the scientists.

The scientists were quiet. It was Zeus' dark power holding Tala and they were afraid to get close to him.

"He's next right?" Zeus looked down at Tala and extended his hand with long, sharp, boney fingers.

"Good night." He smiled.

Tala was soon lost in a dark void with the sensation that he was falling. He couldn't hear his voice screaming though he knew he was. He couldn't feel any pain…his body had gone numb and all his thoughts and memories jumbled into one.

The scientists stood still for now Tala was lying on a perfectly normal tile floor, unconscious. Zeus smiled and turned his back, flipping his hair behind him, laughing.

The scientists said nothing and their gaze shifted to Zeus then back at Tala. The head scientist snapped them all out of it when he ordered them to get Tala prepared for the battle. The scientists alerted the guards that Tala was in captivity and the search for him was called off. The guards locked in the cell were set free and cheered at the boy's re-capture.

* * *

><p>"Artemis. Why can't we just take care of the humans with out powers?" Zeus asked and leaned against the wall.<p>

"It'd be too easy that way." Artemis explained as she flipped through the beybladers profiles.

"How…?"

"They need to know what it's like to participate in that stupid game against their will. We need to beat them at their own game. Teach them humiliation"

"Oh come on…who cares about any of that. You and I can just go take out the others with our powers no problem." Zeus waved it away.

Artemis shook her head. "No, we do that the others won't be free and won't get their own bodies."

"If we destroy them we can just take their beyblades."

"No. We're going to show them what it's like to be forced into this game, were you listening?" Artemis looked at him.

"Oh. So you made some sort of deal with that Boris man. You know, he's a human."

"Yes. He's held up his end of the bargain. We need to hold up ours. It's only fair…as much as I hate to work with a human. There are worse than him."

Zeus watched her before looking up at the ceiling and grinned. "So we'll meet the others"

Artemis was quiet and hopped off the desk "Speaking of the others. We'll be meeting an artificial spirit soon…humph, can't say I'm eager. Anyway, It's time I go free another one." she turned away from Zeus and began walking out of the room.

"Which one?" Zeus called.

"The Black Turtle."

"Draciel…well have fun. By the way Artemis, be careful who you place your trust in."

* * *

><p>Nightfall came as the group of beybladers huddled together in the lighthouse. Bryan and Ian had gone exploring around the lighthouse trying to find a first aid kit, an emergency kit, anything that would aid them. Garland stood by the door to keep watch while Mystel was on top of the lighthouse watching for a boat or helicopter.<p>

Tyson had caught his breath but his back was sore from the fall.

"Mr. Dickenson better hurry up if we want to find Kai and the others safe…" he sighed.

"We're not in a very good position that's for sure…but we're better than yesterday." Kenny nodded, typing away on his computer.

"You call this better…" Tyson mumbled.

He sighed, leaned his back against the wall, and glanced at Tala's photograph with the red haired woman and Russian soldier.

"Hey chief… do you think Tala and Kai would really fight each other?" the champion asked.

"I don't know. According to Bryan and the others they didn't like each other very much."

"But then why be on a team?"

"Good question…though they did say teammates doesn't mean friendship."

Tyson looked confused and leaned his arm on his knee. He didn't like the thought of Kai and Tala doing that much damage to each other and the forest. In all actuality, Tyson was still denying that fact.

"Don't worry Tyson. We'll find them and you can ask them." Kenny nodded.

"I guess I don't know that much about Kai after all…and I know even less about Tala…"

"Well…" Kenny went to say something but decided against it.

"Don't worry about it Tyson." Ray said as he searched through boxes.

Tyson looked at his ex-teammate.

"None of us know much about Kai. He keeps to himself a lot, but that's all right because we're still friends."

"Yeah…I guess."

"And we may not know much about Tala either but we're still friends aren't we? You don't have to know everything about everyone to be friends with them. I'm worried about them too but don't start questioning friendship over it." Ray said sternly.

Tyson sighed "Yeah. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Ray smiled.

Ray turned back to the box but a figure in the window caught his eye. He yelled and jumped backwards.

"Ah! What?" Kenny whimpered.

Ray sighed in relief. It was only Mystel. He knocked on the window and motioned somewhere in the bushes. The White Tiger frowned and looked back at Tyson.

"Someone's outside."

"Mr. Dickenson?" Tyson asked.

"No."

Tyson quickly frowned.

"It's probably that girl again! She came back for others!" Tyson yelled and took off. Kenny and Ray desperately reached out trying to catch him; but failed.

Tyson ran down the stairs and pushed Lee and Rick out of the way. The White Tiger and the All Star exchanged confused looks until Ray and Kenny yelled at them to stop Tyson. If the champion ran out the door of the lighthouse and tried to make his way over those slippery rocks so carelessly he'd get more than wind knocked out of him.

"Tyson hold on!" Ray yelled.

"You're going to get hurt again kid!" Rick yelled.

Tyson jumped on the rock above and attempted to pull himself up. Rick, Lee, and Ray grabbed him and yanked him back to their level.

"Tyson. Stop!" Ray snapped.

"It's her!"

"It could have been an animal or something." Ray frowned.

"Well I'm going to find out." Tyson sounded determined.

"No. You're not. You're too upset to think clearly right now."

"I'm perfectly calm!"

"Which is why you ran out of the lighthouse like that? We need to stick together. If it's her, you'd be a sitting duck going after her alone. So far, she's proven not to care about our health."

"You guys!" Kenny called out to them.

"Come back inside!"

Tyson was frowning and looked at Ray, then at Lee and Rick.

"Let's get her together then." Tyson nodded.

"Tyson…" Ray sighed.

"We can try. She can't take on all of us after all." Rick smirked.

"I'm in." Lee smiled.

Ray sighed "Fine. Mystel can watch us from the lighthouse and tell the others then." Ray decided but looked uneasy.

Kenny stood in the doorway still. After hearing the fours plan, he objected to it greatly but Lee, Rick, Tyson and Ray climbed up the rocks anyway. Now on land again they stared at the forest.

"We know you're there!" Tyson yelled.

"No use hiding now." Rick readied his launcher.

Behind the trees Artemis appeared.

"I have to admit that I'm impressed…without your friend you wouldn't have even known I was here."

"Yep, but now we do." Tyson frowned and readied his launcher.

Artemis watched the four of them with an indifferent expression. It was still too early to fight Tyson…and even she knew her power was no match for two of the main sacred spirits. She stood staring into the face of four launchers, mulling over what to do. As long as she wasn't followed, she could very easily flee but they might give chase if she did.

"Come on. Are you scared?" Rick taunted her.

Artemis said nothing. She didn't have to decide anymore. The ground started to rumble causing her and the four others to lose their balance. A silhouette appeared against the bright moon and attacked the lighthouse. Black shadows covered it from the base to the top. Mystel jumped to avoid being grasped by the sudden shadows.

"What the heck is that?" Lee yelled, seeing the shadows consume the lighthouse.

Artemis frowned deeply.

The lighthouse burst in the middle as thick cracks appeared in its surface. Once it cracked, the shadows disappeared and returned to the silhouette. Mystel landed on the edge of the rocks, which then too cracked. That entire side of the cliff with the lighthouse was crumbling.

"Mystel!" Ray yelled leaping to grab his arm.

He caught him just as the ground fell below Mystel's feet. Now with Mystel dangling from the edge, his only hope for survival was Ray. Tyson, Lee, and Rick rushed over to help as fast as they could. The ground's shaking made it difficult for them to move but they made it.

Artemis watched the lighthouse go down. Gritting her teeth together, she used the distraction to get away.

When the ground had ceased shaking Ray and Lee pulled Mystel onto the ledge. All four stared at the ruins of the lighthouse below them.

With his eyes wide and jaw dropped Tyson could barely think. A dust cloud rose from the remains and only the noise of the ocean waves could be heard. It was too much to process all at once. Just a year ago he was at the world championships surrounded by his friends, a year ago he made friends with BEGA, a few days ago he was begging his principle to put his detention on hold, a few seconds ago he watched all his friends and teammates fall to their death. It was too much pain to take.

* * *

><p>Artemis ran in the direction she saw the silhouette land and approached it.<p>

"What's wrong with you?" She snapped.

"What?" Zeus grinned.

"Why did you do that?"

"I helped you escape."

"You killed them. You ruined all of it! All of my plans! They're gone!" Her voice cracked.

"Oh my poor Artemis. You've come to rely on these humans too much."

"What? How DARE you accuse me of such a thing-"

Zeus put his hand up in front of her

"Calm down. Take a breather. Look, you're using these humans for fun, to get angry over, to play "pointless" games with. You're relying on them." he shook his finger at her.

"I made a promise! You turned me into a liar! I'm no better than these humans now."

Zeus rolled his eyes.

"I didn't kill them, don't get so worked up."

"You call THAT not killing them!"

"You want the Black Turtle right? Some have been washed out to sea, others are trapped beneath the debris of the lighthouse, they may be injured…but they aren't dead and won't die from the injuries if they make very smart decisions." Zeus laughed mockingly.

Artemis looked disgusted; tilting her head slightly at Zeus.

"I too…rely greatly on these humans for entertainment. Let's enjoy the show together." Zeus smiled and pointed towards the shore.

"We'll see Draciel soon."

Artemis sighed in relief. Her anger hadn't disappeared though. After a few minutes, she looked at Zeus.

"Next time you have a plan on that, fill me in on it first." She said warningly.

Zeus nodded and bowed before her, teasing her.

"My apologies…" He laughed "I'll be sure to tell you next time.

* * *

><p>Boris walked down a long corridor before reaching a door at the end. He knocked before entering.<p>

"How is your grandson doing?" Boris asked upon entering the room.

"He's asleep. Always such a rebellious child." Voltaire said in disgust as he watched the recording of Tala and Kai's fight.

"I have to agree…" Boris nodded.

"I suspect Tala's treatment is underway."

"As we speak. Though his may take longer than expected…he'll be hard to break, your grandson too."

"Kai lusts after power. Though I fear this battle with Tala has been a set back… No matter, Kai cannot resist power. If nothing else he will want to face Tyson again."

"We're already preparing Dranzer at this moment. Once he wakes up the preparations will be comple-"

"No." Voltaire said bluntly.

"Hm?" Boris seemed puzzled.

"I thought you would have wanted Kai to understand what it means to have true power."

"I do. I have been patient with him far too long. It's time for some tough love." Voltaire looked Boris in the eyes.

"Prepare Black Dranzer."

At first, Boris was taken back by Voltaire's order. He processed how it was Voltaire who seemed wary about Tala's cyberization was now telling him to give the most powerful bit-beast in the world his own body. Boris started to say something but Voltaire cut him off.

"I don't want any excuses. I trust you to figure it out. Kai will fight Black Dranzer."

"Have you forgotten about the well being of your grandson?"

"This is for the well being of my grandson."

"Very well. Hehe…It's been some time since I've had challenging work." Boris smirked and agreed.

* * *

><p><strong>Well here it is. I've been feeling rather discouraged recently, which is why this chapter took me so long. Like I said above I hope you enjoy this chapter very much.<strong>

**Please REVIEW!**


	12. Desperation

**Here you all go. This one is cut a bit short because I'm working on multiple things at once, also my B-day is coming up. Also I wanted your insight on something, I've been watching Legend of Korra, in my opinion the original Airbender series was a lot better but Legend of Korra is pretty good. So I was wondering if I should write a fanfiction where the Beyblade characters have bending powers...lol no doubt that would be super FAN fiction xD Anyway it was just a thought. Enjoy!**

**Review!**

**Anonymous reviews welcome!**

* * *

><p>The dust cleared from the ruins of the lighthouse. The last pieces of rock and concrete crumbled and settled with the rest at the bottom of the cliff. Tyson was still processing the information until Lee's voice rang out.<p>

"Mariah!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

There was no response from below.

Tears filled his eyes as he desperately called his sister's name again. Below was nothing but concrete ruins, appearing completely devoid of life. No sound, no movement, absolutely nothing. Again, Lee cried out for Mariah's response…all to no avail.

Ray had a pained expression on his face. Was anyone still alive?

"Mariah!" Lee called out again.

"Gary! Kevin! Someone! Answer me!"

Rick had his teeth gritted together, fists shaking in anger, it was their fault…no…it was that girl's fault, it was Boris' fault. The man was crazy and now a murderer. Everyone else was gone, no way could they have survived, not even Tyson was that optimistic.

Tyson hadn't moved from his shocked state. Brooklyn, Kai, Tala, now everyone. His eyes drifted to the boys next to him. Ray, Lee, Rick, and Mystel were all he had left. A sense of urgency overcame his body and tears came to his eyes. With only five of them how could Mr. Dickenson get there in time to save them…not like it mattered anymore.

Ray bit his lip as he tried to remain calm and think of what to do next. The hardest part was to stay calm; he had already thought of a million things they could do but with each thought, he grew more and more upset.

"The…the power that attacked the lighthouse…" Mystel sounded like he was in a daze. "It was…Zeus' power."

Lee was gripping the dirt hard and looked at Mystel.

"Zeus…? Brooklyn's bit-beast…?" Lee asked.

Mystel only nodded.

"How is that possible…?" Ray asked wearily.

"I don't know, but I know that was Zeus' power. I'd know it anywhere."

Lee bit his lip "Zeus…"

"Then the simulation on Kenny's laptop was right. It was missing the bit…so were Kai and Tala's!" Rick yelled.

"That's true…" Ray said under his breath.

Tyson was looking at them, not understanding what was happening. "So if that was Zeus then Brooklyn had to be around somewhere right? Did Boris force him to do this?" he started yelling.

"If Brooklyn's still alive…if Boris forced him to do this- but that doesn't make any sense." Ray shook his head.

"What doesn't…?" Rick asked.

"Why bother keeping Brooklyn alive if he was going to kill us…?" Ray asked.

"Hm…" Rick scratched his head.

"Maybe it wasn't a murder attempt…maybe he's trying to make the five of us go out into the forest…" Mystel said.

"Let's go check the others!" Lee said hastily. "They…they might still be ok!"

Tyson frowned a little. He almost didn't want to check for fear some might be dead but he wanted to know if they were all right too. Swallowing hard he nodded and the five of them walked near the edge of the cliff, trying to find a way down.

"So what do you think went wrong…?" Rick asked.

"Maybe…Brooklyn made it all look like more damage was done than it actually was. Maybe, he tried not to hurt anyone but had to impress Boris…" Ray shrugged.

"What for…?" Tyson frowned.

"I have a feeling we'll find out." Mystel nodded.

"But…how could Boris possibly be controlling Brooklyn…?"

"We'll find out…and we should be extra careful." Mystel said again and Ray agreed.

"Whatever! Let's just check on the others. Who cares about Boris anymore?" Lee snapped.

"I do! Look what he's doing!" Tyson snapped back.

"Don't worry guys, we'll find him…my fist wants to say hi." Rick smirked.

Ray didn't respond. They walked all the way around the edge until they found a pile of rubble that lead downwards in a diagonal position. It looked as though they could use that to get to the bottom, but the only problem was…it was steep.

"Let's go." Lee nodded and stepped forward but Mystel blocked him.

"I'll go first." He said and started his way down the rubble.

On his way down, he let the others know where it was safe to step and where it wasn't safe to step.

Bryan was lying on his back and could feel something warm trickling down his face. There was a stinging pain on his forehead, jagged rocks poking his back, and it felt as though someone was pinching his left arm. He tried moving his body but was so weak. He kept drifting in and out of consciousness. His mind was all a jumble and couldn't piece together what had happened.

* * *

><p><em>When Bryan opened his eyes, again he was sitting in an alleyway with his back against a wall. The young boy stood up and rubbed his eyes. A rumbling sound came from his stomach as he walked to the end of the alleyway. His eyes scanned the poor town but no one paid any attention to him, an even poorer child, he pulled the rags of his jacket around him in an attempt to keep warm. The sky was dark and looked as if snow would fall at any moment, he needed to find shelter, but first he needed to find some food. <em>

_The silver haired boy searched the streets for his target. He decided on the bakery. It was full on such a cold day that there was a crowd of people buying warm bread and hot drinks. All Bryan had to do was 'accidentally' bump into someone and get some money. It would be easy to casually run into someone with such a large crowd. The boy walked into the bakery and looked around. He chose a man wearing a clean jacket and holding a large pastry. Bryan walked by the man, knocking side, Bryan stumbled a bit. _

"_Hey kid! Watch it!" The man snapped. _

_Bryan gave the man an apologetic look and nodded before continuing to the counter. A person who had witnessed Bryan bumping into the man walked up to him and whispered in the man's ear. The silver haired boy was busy at the counter looking for what he wanted that he didn't notice someone had rat him out. _

_The man vigorously searched his pockets and realized he was missing something. The man was obviously not aware of how things ran around the town. Without the other person's tip, Bryan would have gotten away with it. The boy felt a heavy hand on his shoulder as the man yelled at the baker. _

"_Don't sell this thief anything! He stole from me!"_

_The man turned Bryan around and demanded his money back. _

"_All right, street rat. Return every cent you stole from me boy! I know how your kind works…no-"_

_Bryan kicked the man in the shin and ran out the door. _

"_Hey!" the baker yelled after him and chased Bryan to the door. _

_Once the man had recovered he started chasing after Bryan, limping as he ran, he couldn't catch up to him. _

_The man gritted his teeth and yelled at people to stop the homeless boy. _

_Some of the other people ignored the man's orders. The man cried out in desperation, saying he'd offer them a reward if they could catch the boy. This suddenly got their attention, a reward, one person standing on the street attempted to grab Bryan. The man kept shouting about a reward as more got interested. Soon the man and some others were chasing after the boy. _

_Bryan bit his lip as he ran. He forgot about the rats…you always had to look out for the rats. _

_He turned a corner and out of nowhere, hands grabbed him. Immediately he started kicking, punching and screaming. The hands held him and covered his mouth._

"_Sh! They'll hear us." _

_Bryan looked back and saw a red haired boy with clear, baby blue eyes, no bigger than he was, holding him still and keeping him quiet. The red head had pulled him into a crawl space and had a wooden crate cover it. _

_Bryan listened, outside the crate footsteps were in a frenzy and frantic voices yelled for the boy's whereabouts. _

"_He must be over there!" the man's voice yelled. _

"_Let's get him!" another voice screamed. _

_The footsteps started up again and grew fainter and fainter. When the voices could no longer be heard, the red head pushed the crate aside and crawled out of the space. _

"_I didn't ask for your help." Bryan said stubbornly. _

_The red head frowned "Fine then, HEY GUYS I FOUND HI-"_

_Bryan jumped on the boy and covered his mouth._

"_Don't do that! Ok, ok…I'm sorry…thanks." Bryan said reluctantly. _

_His eyes studied the red haired boy. He was wearing tattered clothes and had the same dirty face as himself._

"_My name's Tala." the red head nodded. _

"_Bryan…"_

"_You know it wasn't very smart to get caught…"_

"_I didn't do it on purpose!" Bryan snapped. _

"_It still wasn't very smart." Tala shook his head. _

"_What makes you such a genius?"_

"_I have a hiding place," he said bluntly._

_Bryan frowned a little. "So…"_

"_I have somewhere to run too…"_

"_But not a home."_

"_You don't have one either huh…?" Tala asked._

"_I…wouldn't call it a home. You?"_

"_I use to…not so much anymore." Tala shook his head. _

"_Then we're the same…"_

"_What happened to yours?"_

_Bryan went to open his mouth but the sound of his stomach rumbling stopped him. Tala was quiet and just looked at him. Bryan coughed, a little blush went across his face, but Tala smiled a little. _

"_I'm hungry too. Let's go get some food." Tala nodded._

"_I only have this much…" Bryan showed Tala the amount of money he had stolen. It really wasn't much, it was just enough to get something small at the bakery, but they couldn't go back there now that the baker was looking for Bryan._

"_It's ok. I got this." Tala pulled a gold watch out of his pocket._

_Bryan's eyes widened "Hey how'd you get that? What are you doing on the street with that?"_

"_It's my father's. I was on my way to the pawn shop until I heard the commotion."_

"_With that we'll be set for a month!"_

"_I have to use the money to get him food and something to drink…Whatever I have left over…we can put our money together and buy something."_

_Bryan was eyeing the gold watch before looking his new friend in the eyes. He could see that Tala didn't want to give up the watch. On the top of the watch, a T and V were carved right next to each other, along with the Soviets symbol in the background. _

"_Your dad's watch? What's his name?" Bryan asked as they walked to the pawnshop together._

"_Dimitri." _

"_Oh…Well what about your mom…?"_

_Tala visibly tensed when his mother was mentioned. "…Natasha"_

_Bryan tilted his head at Tala then looked back at the watch. T and V. It had to be Tala's watch._

* * *

><p>"Bryan!" he heard a voice.<p>

Bryan winced.

"Bryan! Wake up! Hey!"

"…T…Tala…?" Bryan whispered. The picture of Tala's parents flashed into Bryan's mind. His eyes snapped open and he shot up.

"Where is it!" he yelled.

"Whoa, be cool man…" Mystel blinked.

Bryan winced and held his arm "Ahg…WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO MY ARM? AND MY LEG?"

"Calm down, calm down." Mystel said, making a stopping gesture with his hand.

Bryan looked around at the wreckage of the lighthouse. It all started to come back to him, there was some dark shadow that covered the lighthouse, and he remembered screaming and the ground shaking…then next thing he knew he was waking up on cold, hard, stone.

"It was Zeus. It was his power; Brooklyn was near here…along with that girl." Mystel informed.

Bryan was checking his arm and leg to see how bad the wounds were. "Zeus? Brooklyn? Why didn't you all go after them?"

"There's only five of us…well…six now." Mystel shrugged "We figured you guys were more important."

Mystel offered to help Bryan off the ground, but he refused and blatantly stood up, proving he didn't need any help.

"Right…anyway. We're looking for the others." Mystel stood up.

Bryan looked around at the ruins, looking for some sign of his teammates, Tala's photograph was in his mind but right now, he just wanted to find Spencer and Ian. Tala was already separated from them and all Bryan had were his teammates. His team was the only family he knew since he got off the street. Worry mixed with anger started to fill his body.

A feminine cough was heard as Rick helped Mathilda up, asking if she was all right.

"Ow!" Mathilda yelled and fell to the ground.

"Hey…" Rick kneeled down beside her.

"I'm sorry…it's just…my ankle…" He winced and held her ankle, tears in her eyes.

Rick looked at it and grasped it lightly.

"Ow!"

"It may be broken, kid…"

Mathilda held her leg with a pained expression. "Ouch…"

"Don't worry about it…here, I'll help you." Rick helped Mathilda stand and allowed her to lean most of her weight on him.

_This isn't good…_Ray thought as he watched them. _If more are injured, we'll be…_

Ray shook his head, not wanting to think about it. They continued their search for any other survivors under the rubble or near the cliff. Bryan limped his way over and sat on one of the rocks, holding his head in exhaustion.

"You just take it easy for a while." Mystel told him.

Rick helped Mathilda over to a rock so she could rest her ankle. The search continued until they found Julia closer to the water. Her body was snagged on some sharp, jagged, rocks while the ocean waves splashed on her. Mystel jumped over to her and pulled her from the danger of drowning to the safety of the shore.

She was absolutely drenched from head to toe and still unconscious. Mystel took her to the others and gently laid her on a flat piece of concrete. Like Bryan, her head was wounded, but the side of her was drenched in blood and her skin looked pale.

Mathilda looked up from beneath her bangs and put her hands over her mouth.

"Ah man…" Bryan frowned and went over to Mystel and Julia.

"She's in bad shape…" Mystel bit his lip.

Bryan put his hands on Julia's side and applied pressure. They had to stop the bleeding or else she'd bleed to death. After a few seconds, the blitzkrieg looked up at Mystel.

"Don't freak out on me now. Help me."

"What should I do?"

"Use your sash. It'll have to do for now."

Mystel nodded and took off his red sash from his shoulder and waist. Together with Bryan, they tied the sash around Julia's waist and pulled it tight. Once they did that, a pained expression appeared on her face and a whimper escaped her lips.

"Is she all right?" Mathilda yelled to them.

"Julia." Mystel shook her shoulders lightly.

"JULIA!" he shouted louder.

"I…I hear you…" she whispered and opened her eyes.

"My head's killing me."

"You're hurt. Try not to move, and don't go to sleep." Bryan said before standing up.

Mystel watched him. "You're hurt too."

"I've been through worse than this." Bryan shrugged and looked over at the others.

Ray, Lee, and Rick were still digging through debris and rubble searching for others until two big rocks got pushed aside, making the three of them jump back.

"Thanks Crusher…" Ming-Ming dusted the dirt out of her hair.

"Yeah…" Crusher sighed and rubbed his head.

"Ming-Ming! Crusher!" Mystel yelled happily. He asked Bryan to watch over Julia before running over to them.

"Oh…thank goodness we're not the only ones…" Mathilda whispered to herself.

"Crusher is there anyone else?" Mystel asked frantically.

Crusher shrugged "Sorry…I…I don't know."

"No one huh…?" Ray sighed.

"Where's Tyson….?" Lee looked around.

"Tyson? Uhg…Tyson!" Ray yelled, frustrated.

The champion was nowhere in sight. Everyone looked all around them but couldn't see him.

"Tyson!" Ray yelled.

There was no answer. Worry filled their minds as the thought of losing someone who was right by their side took over.

"Tyson! Don't play any games!" Lee snapped.

"Not good…" Rick frowned.

There was silence as Ray yelled Tyson's name again, this time it echoed and he finally had a response.

"Down here!" The champion's voice sounded close, yet far at the same time.

They looked confused but Ming-Ming peeked over the edge of some rocks and gasped.

"What are you doing down there?" she yelled.

"This…isn't supposed to happen right?" Tyson called up to her and pointed at a large rock.

The rock was too perfectly round to be natural, especially after such an accident. The rock itself appeared to be made out of smaller rocks in the way a puzzle would fit together. Ming-Ming looked confused when she saw it then looked at Crusher.

"Tyson what are you doing down there?" Rick and Lee yelled.

"Looking at this thing! What is it?" Tyson yelled back at them.

"It looks like! Uh…a rock…" Rick blinked. "What is that thing…?"

Ray sighed in relief but also sounded tired. The white tiger started to make his way down to Tyson.

Bryan was watching them curiously but stayed by Julia and helped her sit up. Mathilda wanted to rush over to her but couldn't with her broken ankle.

Once Ray made it down, he looked at the big clump of rock in front of them. He didn't know what it was either but figured they should stay away from it in case it was a trap.

"Tyson…we need to look for the others." Ray said.

"Yeah…but what is it?"

"I don't have any idea…we should stay away though."

Tyson nodded. As they turned to leave Ming-Ming shouted for them to watch out. Crumbling was heard behind them. They turned quickly enough to see a figure appear from behind the rocks as they fell.

"Ian!" Tyson blinked.

"I hate lighthouses…" Ian sighed and caught Wyborg.

"Whoa how did you do that?" Tyson asked.

"Just a trick I learned a long time ago…is everyone all right?"

"We don't know…guess you're alone huh?"

"I got separated from Bryan when the lighthouse collapsed…I managed to save some supplies though." The short blader said, dusting himself off.

"Bryan's up there." Ray motioned to the top.

"What do you mean supplies…?" Tyson asked.

"These…" he said and handed them a few boxes.

They had two first aid kits and a survival kit. The boxes looked old but the contents were unknown so far.

"Was there anyone else with you?" Tyson asked.

"Does it look like it?" Ian asked sarcastically as he climbed the rocks and made his way to Bryan.

* * *

><p>Kai slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times to get them focused. Once his vision was clear he looked around. Voltaire wasn't sitting at the desk. Kai was completely alone in the chamber. He frowned and punched the clear wall. It was sturdy; he couldn't break his way through it.<p>

The two-tone haired blader searched his clothes but he couldn't find his beyblade or launcher. He grit his teeth and glared at where Voltaire had been sitting. On the laptop, the battle between himself and Tala was replaying.

"Why in the world was he recording that…?" Kai asked himself.

He frowned and looked around desperately for a way out. His grandfather locked him in a cage like some lab rat. Kai's mind began to wander elsewhere. Where was Tala and what was happening to him. These thoughts repeated. He also thought of Tyson and the others. Immediately regret ate away at him.

_What was I thinking…? I knew what Boris was planning and I still…_

Kai shook his head.

_It wouldn't be fair to fight Tyson this way…Boris wants to weaken him, I knew that. Uhg! Stupid! Grandfather knew I'd take the bait…and I fell for it. Like an idiot! _

He sat on the bed, feeling defeated and angry at himself. He had to get out of there and find Tala and Brooklyn. Whatever Boris and Voltaire's plans were he knew they wouldn't be good but at the same time, he still yearned to be part of it. He wanted to beat Tyson.

_Stop thinking like that…Beat Tyson the right way. The fair way. No help. Fair and square. _

Kai nodded as he tried to get his priorities back on track. His new mission was to meet Tyson in the finals again, but this time he was going to win. In order to get to the finals, he first had to get out of there.

A creaking sound startled him. His eyes shot towards the sound and saw his grandfather smiling at him. It wasn't a happy smile but a condescending one.

"What do you want?" Kai snapped.

"Not a very friendly attitude. It's been a long time since we've seen each other…if you disregard the last few hours."

"What do you expect? Let me out of here I'm bored."

"Not until you learn some manners. You can't come out of time-out just yet."

"Time-out? I'm not a child!" Kai frowned.

"With the way you act I don't see how anyone could think otherwise." Voltaire sat down in his chair.

Kai was still frowning and wouldn't take his eyes off Voltaire.

"Do you remember that time in Russia, Kai?"

Kai winced and thought back to the Abbey. The thought only stirred up more hatred for the old geezer.

"You remember your stunt with Black Dranzer-"

"That's in the past. You can't hold that against me now."

Voltaire was silent for a moment then spoke again.

"Then at the championships, you stole all the bit-beasts."

Kai frowned "Shut up."

"For whatever reason you give up Black Dranzer, the ultimate power…"

"I don't want that evil power…"

"Then…you disobey me. I swore I would make you and your friends pay that day." Voltaire sighed before looking at Kai.

"You're a disappointment. Just like your father. I thought you could be something special…but you keep fighting against me."

Kai glared "Don't talk about him!"

Voltaire opened a plastic container on his desk and inside was a keypad with various colored buttons. The man hit the yellow button near the corner and a powerful shock hit Kai as the chamber lit up.

"Aahhh!" Kai yelled.

When the chamber went dark again Kai fell unconscious on the floor, his body twitching involuntarily. Voltaire stood up and ordered some guards to remove Kai from his sight.

* * *

><p>Judy sat at the kitchen table with her head in her hands. There were absolutely no leads on her missing son and All Star team. Comforting hands were placed on her shoulders as she looked up to meet the eyes of her husband.<p>

"Don't worry Judy. We'll find Max…and he'll be just fine." he consoled.

"I'm so worried about him. I'm sure he's fine but…I should have inspected that letter. I would have known if the BBA would send out those letters why did I let him go, why did I believe it?"

"Don't talk like that. We're going to find all of them." he nodded.

Judy wiped the tears from her eyes before sorrowfully looking down at the table.

"Oh, Max…" she mumbled.

Mr. Dickenson was doing all he could and had been checking the BBA database for certified training areas but so far there was nothing. The only team they had contact with were the Majestics who claimed not to get any letter from the BBA for a resort.

The old man pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his face. The dread was filling him up from head to toe. He thought of Tyson and Daichi, wondering if they were all right. The clock was ticking away and their chances of finding them were ticking away with it.

* * *

><p><strong>So the story is drawing closer and closer to an end. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter too. Right now, I estimate maaaaaybe...4 or 5 more chapters before the story is over, maybe more. I will be doing more fanfictions like this one where I will try my best to keep everyone in character and stay true to the actual show. I'm not Takao Aoki so it may not be perfect buuut...I really love the original beyblade too much to let it be forgotten. <strong>

**We all loved the old show. It was great. **

**REVIEW!**


	13. Survival

**I'm a ghost and I am now haunting you...Lol just kidding. Sorry for my absence, I don't do it on purpose. It's been the 6th month anniversary of my Bro's death and I was going through some grieving, but I'm feeling a LOT better now :) **

**Mrs. Controversy: Aaaw I'm sorry to hear about your story. I've heard that fanfiction has been taking a lot of stories down! I'm glad it got restored ^.^ but moving on, I always look forward to your reviews! I will think about expanding the story, you want 50 chapters AND a sequel? XD I'll try my very best! This story was only going to be 5 chapters if you can believe it, lol.**

**Some stuff: Glad you like it! ^.^ I'll be looking forward to your reviews as well!**

**SprintingFever: I'm happy you're enjoying the story so much, I really miss the old show too. I would leap through the roof if it continued! But until then I'll just keep on writin' my fics :) I'm glad it's reminding you of all the stuff we know and love from the old show ^^ I'll try my hardest to keep it up!**

**DGMSilverAirhead03: Here's my next chapter, hope you enjoy! :D**

**To everyone else: I really just feel the need to thank all of you for reading my story, and an especially big thank you to those of you who review my chapters. I appreciate it greatly! Thank you ALL for the support! Please keep on reading and I'll keep on writing! I have some big plans for this story that will incorporate the manga, and you'll be seeing some familiar faces very soon! **

* * *

><p>Artemis crawled over a large rock and Zeus skillfully jumped from rock to rock behind her. They had carried on in silence; she was still slightly annoyed by Zeus' actions with the lighthouse and now had trouble believing everyone had survived.<p>

"You're sure they all survived?" Artemis asked.

Zeus nodded, "Yes, for the last time I am sure. Oh, well maybe not…see I made sure to just destroy the lighthouse and have them survive it buuuut, see if one of them can't swim then they'll drown so I don't know if they're all right but I know I made sure not to…'fatally' harm them."

Artemis frowned and glared at Zeus.

"Zeus you ruined everything!"

"I think you're being a bit over dramatic…look over there." he pointed.

Artemis followed his finger and saw a glowing light in the distance of the great ocean. Her face returned to its normal emotionless state. Someone was using their sacred beast. She sighed a little, nodded, and started moving again.

"See none of them will die as long as they have their beasts-" Zeus grinned.

"That's what's wrong with them Zeus. They use our power for themselves…because they're too weak to do anything."

"Too serious Artemis, you need to loosen up once and a while."

"You're too relaxed; it's exactly why now we have to search the island for these scattered humans."

"…Pfft." Zeus rolled his eyes.

"I hope the others will make better conversation…or at least be more fun company…," he muttered.

Artemis ignored him and got closer to the light. She hoped it was her next target, Draciel; she strained her eyes to try to see it as the current of the ocean changed. Zeus stood next to her and put his hand above his eyes as if he was shielding the sun, but it was nightfall, there was no sun.

"What is that…?" Artemis asked herself.

"A whale…?" Zeus said, barely able to see the beast.

Artemis was quiet and watched the whale. Both Artemis and Zeus' eyes grew wide and they gasped.

"H-he's…alive?" Artemis and Zeus exchanged looks before looking back out at the ocean.

"Ooooh I get the feeling this is even better than Draciel." Zeus teased her.

"Hurry." Artemis ordered and started running over the rocks.

Zeus sighed and followed her, mumbling that she was too serious.

* * *

><p>Spencer had used his beyblade to change the current of the ocean and safely carry himself and a few others to shore. Once his feet were able to touch the sea floor he walked onto the shore, dragging Hilary along with him. Kenny held his laptop to his chest and was shivering from the cold. Once he was on the sand he collapsed on his knees and started talking about how glad he was to be on dry land, he then started ranting on and on about hypothermia, sharks, and starving to death.<p>

"Chief…shut up…" Emily sighed and sat on the sand, adjusting her glasses.

Spencer gently set Hilary down on the sand and Emily crawled over to her, making sure she was all right. The tall Blitzkrieg caught his beyblade and sat down while the other's came to join them on land.

"This sucks…" Eddy sighed as he trudged from the water.

"Shut up Eddy." Emily said.

"Uuuuhg" Eddy sounded exhausted and lay on his back.

"Do you think the other's are all right…?" Aaron asked as he joined the others on the sand.

"Yes, they're fine." Emily said bluntly and looked at them "Come on; let's just stay concerned about our survival."

"Survival? It's all over for us Emily, even you know the odds of surviving out here are-"

"Chief! Shut. Up!" she yelled again, "If we freak out we're done for."

"She's right about that…" Spencer said and looked behind him. There was nothing but a thick forest behind them with tall trees that didn't look familiar. The blonde sighed; they were in a worse situation before. Their numbers had dwindled significantly, they didn't know where the others were or if they were all right, and they were more lost than before.

Hilary coughed up water and broke the silence. Emily helped her sit up and asked if she was all right.

"Y-yeah…I think so…what happened?" she asked and held her head.

"I don't know…" Emily looked at the others for help.

Everyone was quiet and began racking their memories, which was when Eddy turned his head towards them.

"I remember seeing some type of shadow." he said.

"A shadow? Now that you mention it… I think I saw it too. It had to be from a bit-beast…right?" Aaron asked.

"Maybe…Oh, my laptop's completely dead…" Kenny cried and opened it. The screen was cracked and watered poured from the keyboard.

"It's not fair…it's not fair…" Kenny whined.

Spencer sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, looking up at the stars, he wondered what happened to Ian and Bryan but he figured they were okay. He just couldn't help but worry.

The stranded group went quiet as each of them came up with theories about the shadow. All came to the unanimous conclusion that it was a bit-beasts doing, but they were trying to figure out what bit-beast it was. Everybody thought of Brooklyn's dark power but they didn't think he would show up just to destroy a lighthouse even if Boris made him do it. It had to be something else, or so they all thought.

"We need to find something to eat." Spencer said.

The other's looked at him as he stood up and dusted the sand off his pants. The Blitzkrieg looked at all of them and asked if any of them were injured, fortunately none of them had physical injuries, but were exhausted, hungry, and water-logged in the place of bodily wounds.

"I know you're all tired, but we need to look for food, some fruit or something. If we can we should also try and find fresh water." Spencer said and looked into the darkness of the forest.

"Now? You want to go now?" Hilary asked.

"It's dark in there…" Emily looked over at the forest; she wasn't so sure it was a good idea to go into a dark forest as weak as they were, especially after the lighthouse incident.

"The longer we wait the more our strength will deplete." He said bluntly.

"That's true…but…" Emily looked at the others then back at the forest.

Either way it was a difficult situation. They could stay on the beach and get weaker, or they could travel into the dark forest and get attacked or injured. Weighing the odds, Spencer fearlessly began walking into the forest. It was true he could be injured, it was true an ambush could be waiting, but on the other hand, what if there were fruit trees closer than they thought, what if they were just beyond the first layer of trees, what if they just sat there getting weaker while food was just around the corner? Even if Spencer did get ambushed, he was sure he could fight off any animal or person, but if he lost the battle then he'd be one-step closer to Tala. There was nothing more to lose.

Eddy watched Spencer walk towards the forest and got up to follow.

"Yo, Emily. I'm going too, stay here with the others." Eddy said and ran after Spencer.

Emily watched the two of them and nodded. Kenny yelled after them that it was a bad idea but to be careful anyway.

"Chief! Now is not the time to freak out okay?" Hilary snapped.

"Excuse me but I think this is the perfect time to freak out!"

"We need to be patient! Mr. D will be here in the morning!"

"Be here in the morning? How will he find us? The lighthouse is gone and we're who knows where, my laptop's gone and so is Emily…we have no way of contacting anyone, we're going to perish here!"

Hilary was quiet for a moment, her face a mix of shock and realization. Mr. Dickenson would be looking for the lighthouse or the docks. With the lighthouse gone there was no obvious monument to wait by, and they had been separated from the others. No, if Mr. Dickenson showed up and found even one beyblade he would not give up the search, there's no way he'd let them die there. Hilary frowned and grabbed Kenny by the shirt.

"Stop being so pessimistic! Mr. D will find us! He will not leave us here, if he finds the others he'll know we're missing and won't stop looking for us! We'll be fine!" She yelled.

The sad truth was Mr. Dickenson never received their E-Mail. Boris was not full enough to leave such a wide opportunity open for them. As soon as he saw a foreign computer logged onto his network, he intercepted the signal and implanted a virus in Emily's computer. None of the beybladers knew that yet. The hope that Mr. Dickenson was coming for them in the morning was nothing but false hope.

Kenny was still blubbering but didn't want Hilary to yell at him anymore.

"Okay I got it! It's just…this was suppose to be a nice relaxing place for us to beyblade before the championships and it turned into some weird survival prank show or something!" Kenny yelled.

"Uhg, hopeless." Hilary slapped her forehead.

"Just calm down Kenny, we'll be all right." Emily tried to reassure him.

"At least we have Spencer with us. Without him we'd all drown-besides he knows more about Boris than we do." Aaron said and nodded.

"But even so…you saw what happened to Tala and Kai when they went off alone, and what happened to Brooklyn, AND what happened to the lighthouse!" Kenny countered.

Hilary sighed and shook her head. Kenny was right, but they just had to stay positive. Mr. Dickenson would come for them; they just had to hold out until morning. That's what Hilary told herself.

_Mr. Dickenson will find us…h-he won't give up until we're home safe. He'll show up in the morning in a helicopter and save us…Tala, Kai, and Brooklyn will be okay…the others will be completely fine. Tyson and Daichi will go back their normal selves and start fighting like they always do while Chief types on his brand new laptop. We'll be fine. We'll be fine…_

Hilary told herself again and again.

_Just until morning…we can do it._

She smiled and looked at the others. She told them by the time morning comes they'll all be fine, each and every beyblader would be perfectly healthy and Boris would be gone forever. Mr. D would run him out of town. Hilary believed it with all her heart.

* * *

><p>"Claude!" Miguel yelled.<p>

"I got you! Don't worry!" Claude screamed as he held onto his teammate's wrist. His two white wings were glowing from his back as he pulled Miguel up and over the rocky cliff. Miguel collapsed next to him and was out of breath.

"The next time you decide to use your wings like that…make sure we're closer to the ground and not hovering over jagged rocks…okay?" Miguel half laughed.

"Sorry. I never used them like that before…" Claude shrugged and stood up as the wings vanished and he caught his beyblade.

Miguel smiled and stood up, looking over the edge of the cliff; from where they were standing they could see the entire wreck from the lighthouse incident. Miguel wiped the sweat from his brow as he peered at the rubble. Claude held his right shoulder and rubbed it, wincing from the pain. He was fine but a large bruise was forming under his clothes on his right shoulder and he couldn't lift his arm very high.

"I shouldn't have launched my blade…it made my shoulder worse…" Claude sighed.

"I'm glad you did though. I didn't even think about launching Dark Gargoyle."

"…Do you think they're all okay…?"

Miguel was quiet and looked back at the lighthouse remains. The two bladers from the Barthez Battalion could barely make out the figures that were still at the wreckage.

"I bet that one running around is Tyson. That one leaning against the rock I bet is Rick, and that big guy is Crusher." Miguel smiled before looking at Claude.

"We're not the only ones…come on, let's find a way down from here before they leave without us."

Claude nodded and followed his leader, trying to find a safe way down from the cliff so they could meet with the others below them. Miguel had only guessed the one running around was Tyson but couldn't see him clearly enough to know for sure. He hoped that Aaron and Mathilda were there waiting for them.

* * *

><p>Lee was still searching the debris frantically for his sister. The longer it took him to find her; the more anxious he became. Ray was just as worried but his panic showed less than his teammate's.<p>

"We'll find her Lee; she's not going down this easily." Ray tried to comfort him.

"Spare me, Ray. I won't feel better until I find her." Lee said harshly.

Ray sighed and shook his head, but he fully understood Lee's frustration and worry. Ming-Ming was kneeling by Julia's side with a worried look. Every few minutes she'd ask Julia if she was okay, making sure she was still conscious. Julia would nod and try her best to verbally answer her.

The kits Ian had managed to hold onto came in handy. Some of the gauze was a little damp but the ones further down in the package were perfectly fine. Ming-Ming and Mathilda dressed Julia and Bryan's wounds after Rick stabilized her ankle with a stick and tightly wrapped it with bandages. So far, everyone was fine with the exception of Julia who was in the worst shape. Her color had not yet returned to her face and she lay still on the ground, but the bleeding had stopped and she responded to all their questions.

Mathilda sat next to Ming-Ming to watch over Julia. The mint-haired diva looked at the pink haired girl with concern.

"Mathilda, are you comfortable here? Maybe you should sit somewhere where you can put your foot up." She suggested.

The girl only smiled. "No. I'm fine…Julia's the one who needs help right now, and my ankle feels a lot better thanks to Rick."

"Hm…yeah but it's broken, it still hurts doesn't it?"

"Yes, but it isn't that bad, really!" Mathilda smiled.

Ming-Ming nodded but knew she was lying about the pain. She decided to let it go though, seeing how Julia was the one who was bleeding and Mathilda just had a broken ankle.

Bryan and Ian sat next to each other with their backs against a big rock wall. Ian watched the others turn over pieces of debris to find any other survivors. Crusher was able to pick up the larger pieces, which was extremely helpful.

"You know Ian; I bet you could crawl into the smaller areas." Bryan said.

"Why the heck would I want to do that?"

"I don't know. To look for the others."

"Why would I if Crusher can just pick up the rock?" Ian quirked an eyebrow at Bryan.

"You know what…never mind."

Ian frowned a little and looked back at the other's running around.

"I didn't think Boris would go this far." Ian said, changing the subject.

"Tch. He's not going to get away with it." Bryan frowned.

"Yeah we're in a great situation to fight him now…"

"I'm tired of him jerking us around."

Bryan took a moment before speaking again.

"If I'm the next one to disappear and if I come face to face with Boris I'll…I'll…"

"What if you don't?"

"What?" the falcon asked.

"What if you don't come face to face with Boris? What if you just disappear?"

"It doesn't matter! Either way…Boris is finished, I'll make sure he'll never bother us again!" Bryan snapped, the viciousness becoming obvious in his voice.

Ian looked up at Bryan and noticed the anger in his face. Bryan was clenching his hands into fists and trembling slightly. The site of Bryan this way scared him, but then again Ian knew Bryan harbored much stronger feelings of hate towards Boris than he did.

"Bryan…?"

"I promise…I'll destroy that guy." Bryan growled.

Ian didn't say anything and watched his teammate. He remembered the first day he joined the team. Ian was the youngest member and the last to join the team. That day was the first day he met Tala and Bryan. Bryan was a quiet guy who stood close to Tala and glared as soon as Ian entered the room. At the time, Ian didn't pay any attention to it until he saw a demonstration between Bryan and a boy at the Abbey who wanted a place on the team. That was the day he learned never to mess with Bryan. Ian had always been cocky, and knew when he joined the team that they were strong but he had greatly underestimated all of them.

The purple haired blader quickly pushed all those thoughts out of his head. Bryan's outburst had made him remember those old days at the monastery. Back then, they spent most of their days fearing each other and perhaps in a small way they still feared each other.

_That was different. _Ian thought. _We weren't a real team then._

The more Ian thought about it the more depressed he got. He didn't know much about his teammates back then. Everything was so controlled, so orderly; there wasn't the smallest margin for error so all of them were caught up in training and keeping the image of perfection. Ian sighed a little as he thought more and more about it. He had always been close with Spencer, but when he joined the team that had changed. The friendship between them became strained…after they left the Abbey things seemed to return to normal. Ian had actually got to know his teammates and discovered that he liked them all. His teammates became his friends, and then became his family as time went on. Kai joining the team had changed that. No one wanted to go against Tala's order out of fear of what their captain may do.

_We were afraid…we're still afraid of each other._ Ian shook his head.

The damage Boris had inflicted on them hadn't healed. Even though now the Blitzkrieg Boys had evolved beyond just a team, the scars of the Abbey stayed. Ian flashed one more glance at Bryan who was now staring at the ground with a look of disgust on his face. Ian knew Bryan must have been thinking the same thing. Ian didn't say anything and looked back at the others.

A loud scream was heard suddenly followed by a frantic voice. This sudden noised caused all the bladers to jump and look around, wondering who it was and where it was coming from. Ray blinked as he tried to make out the words of the screaming. The two voices sounded very familiar.

Lee gasped when he figured out he knew one of the voices and ran in the direction he heard it. Ray began to run after him but Tyson passed Ray first and caught up to Lee.

Ray stopped and watched the two run off.

"Be careful! You two better come back!" he yelled.

"Don't worry we will!" Tyson waved at him and continued running.

"What was all that about…?" Ming-Ming asked.

"More survivors, probably." Crusher nodded.

* * *

><p>Lee and Tyson ran as fast as they could towards the voices. Soon they all became clear as three figures came into sight.<p>

"Daichi!" Tyson yelled.

"Mariah!" Lee yelled at the same time as Tyson, creating a jumble of words.

"Lee!" Mariah exclaimed happily, ran to her brother, and jumped on him. Lee hugged her and swung her around, crying tears of relief.

"Ahhhg hey! Someone get this thing off me!" Daichi yelled.

He was laying on his back and wrestling with a small monkey who was trying to take Daichi's pants. Tyson couldn't help but laugh at the site. He was relieved to see Daichi unharmed but never expected to find him in such a way.

"Gaaah! You stupid monkey! Someone help me!" Daichi yelled.

"Hehe…I think he wants his pants back, monkey boy." Tyson teased a little.

"Oh great sit there and laugh!" Daichi tried to stand up and run but the monkey grasped onto his pants tightly and pulled them down, revealing his pink teddy bear boxers, and making Daichi blush and try to pull them back up.

Tyson couldn't do anything but smile at the site and started laughing. Mariah looked over at them and smiled a little. She still had tears in her eyes but they were from relief, not sadness.

"It came out of nowhere and just jumped on him…gave us all a scare, we thought it was one of Boris' goons." she explained.

"What about Kevin and Gary?" Lee asked frantically.

"They're right behind us. When the monkey jumped on Daichi he ran off and I followed so he wouldn't be alone-"

"To be fair…he was with his brother…" Tyson tried to say without laughing.

"A-anyway…if we wait for them, they'll catch up." She continued.

"Good." Lee smiled and hugged her again. "Then we'll go back to the others…they're worried too."

"There are others? And Ray?" she asked hopefully.

"Ray's fine, there are still some people missing…but so far more have turned up…so I think it'll be okay."

"I hope so…" Mariah nodded.

The sounds of Daichi yelling at the monkey could be heard in the background and eased up the gloomy mood. After Tyson's laughing fit, he finally agreed to help Daichi but when he got close; the monkey jumped on his head and swiped his hat. Soon Tyson was chasing the monkey while Daichi waddled away trying to pull up his pants.

"Haha jokes on you Tyson!" Daichi pointed and laughed.

"It's not funny! Give it back! My brother gave me that hat!" the champion yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Will someone help me?"

"You didn't help me!" Daichi yelled.

The monkey climbed a tree quickly while holding onto Tyson's hat with his tail. The champion crawled and attempted to climb after the primate. Daichi had taken a turn to laugh at him, and Lee and Mariah laughed as well.

"Not funny!" Tyson snapped.

"Sorry Tyson, but…it really is." Mariah laughed.

Voices in the distance were heard as Kevin and Gary came running up. Kevin was covered in dirt and had a few scrapes but over all looked fine. Gary had a big welt on his forearm that was swollen and turning red.

"Gary are you all right…?" Lee asked and walked over to him, looking at the welt.

"Huh? Oh this? It stopped hurting a while ago." Gary shrugged it off.

"Since we're all here, let's go back to Ray and all the others." Mariah suggested.

Kevin and Gary's face lit up at the news of Ray. Tyson was still yelling about how the monkey had stolen his hat and they weren't going anywhere until he got it back. Daichi continued laughing until the champion grabbed him by the shirt and forced Daichi to stand on his shoulders in order to reach the monkey.

"Stop wasting time and just grab the thing!" Tyson ordered.

"You owe me for this! You do anything I tell you when we get home." Daichi countered.

"Fat chance!"

"Then I won't get your hat!"

"Daichi!"

"Sheesh…stop yelling…okay, okay!" he finally agreed and carefully tried to grab the hat from the monkey. He attempted to calm it down by speaking to it in baby talk. Tyson sighed and looked exhausted from the whole ordeal.

Once the remaining BBA revolution and White Tiger team made it back to the epicenter of lighthouse ruins, they were greeted by two new faces. Claude and Miguel had joined the group. The White Tiger X team was the only one with all its members present. This gave the others hope that their teammates may still be out there somewhere.

Miguel had decided to go through the survival kit Ian had found and started reading the packets and checking expiration dates. The food was dehydrated and just needed some water added; others needed water and heat added.

"Should we eat this stuff…?" Tyson asked, adjusting his hat and checking around for the monkey.

"It'd be better than nothing." Rick reasoned.

"Not if it'll make us sick."

Mariah looked around "Should we look for food?"

The others pondered between the two ideas. Eat dehydrated food that had been sitting in an old lighthouse for who knew how long, or go find some fresh food somewhere in the forest. The group split in half between finding food or taking a chance and eating from the survival kit.

"We could go find that monkey again." Gary suggest.

"Gary!" Mariah yelled in disgust.

Daichi stood up and slammed his fist into the palm of his hand.

"No problem leave it to me!"

"To you…?" Rick quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah! I'm an expert on these things."

Tyson nodded "he does have a point; Daichi specializes in forests like these."

The White Tigers nodded and decided they'd help find some food too. They decided to try to make fishing poles to catch fish with. Mariah said she would use her Galux since she was an 'expert fisherwoman'

Bryan had isolated himself from the group and stayed sitting by the rock wall with his back against it. Ian had joined the group in helping with firewood in case they had managed to catch any fish. The fire was a controversial topic because it might give away their position, but it would help any stray teammates find them and cook their food. The pro's outnumbered the cons. As the White Tiger team fished, Ian and Kevin collected firewood, and Daichi and Mystel went on a quest for fruit, the remaining team members sat around the fire. It was agreed Julia would eat first, since she was the most injured.

* * *

><p>The ocean waves splashed violently on the boulder's near to the water, sending a spray of sea mist into the night sky. Max reached up, grabbed an edge of the rock, and pulled himself up as the water crashed into his back. He grunted as he hoisted himself up onto the rock. He took a few minutes to catch his breath before looking around. The blonde All Star was completely alone. His deep blue eyes scanned his where-abouts as he tried his best to stay calm. He was at the base of a hill standing on the large boulders that countered the waves. The hill was all rock but became grassy a little more than half the way up. Out of breath, he wiped the water from his face and tried to find a way up. It wasn't very steep but he needed to be careful…if he slipped he would either fall onto the rocks or be tossed and turned by the ocean again.<p>

"Maybe I should wait until I'm stronger…"he said to himself.

_No…that's dumb…If I am caught here alone I'll be a goner. _Max ran his fingers through his hair out of frustration.

He sighed and looked around for another way up. His thoughts went out to his team and to Kai as well. Max had hoped they weren't in a worse position than his own. He carefully stepped over the other rocks that twisted around the side of the hill. A small trail looked like it was visible and led to the top of the hill. Immediately his face brightened with hope but at the same time fear. Maybe he was safe staying at the base. There'd be know way for Boris or that girl to find him, but on the other hand his friends wouldn't find him either.

The All Star placed his hand against the wall for balance as he attempted to step onto the trail. His hand slipped, causing him to lose his balance and he fell onto his butt. Irritated he looked up at the wall to see what had happened.

"What the…?" Max pulled himself up and looked closer.

His hand had moved a section of the rock and revealed a number pad and scanner. Max carefully leaned closer and the scanner turned on and shot a bright light into his eyes, making him lean back again.

"Unknown. Access denied." a mechanical voice said.

Max rubbed his eyes "Access denied…?"

"Someone page Boris." one of the men at the computers said.

In Boris' security room, the screens had showed each of the beybladers location. Max had unknowingly found an entrance to Boris' lair.

Within seconds, Boris was in the security room demanding an explanation for the interruption in his work. The man pointed to the camera, which revealed Max standing directly next to the hidden door. A frown appeared on Boris' face.

"Order's sir?" a woman asked.

"Apprehend him, now! We can't let him find the others and lead them in here!" Boris snapped.

"Yes, sir!" several men and women in black nodded and went to capture Max.

* * *

><p>Max had carefully tried to slide the piece back over the number pad but left it slightly uncovered. If the piece fit back, exactly he wouldn't be able to find it again. When it was covered enough not to be obvious but was open enough to be spotted again, he gingerly made his way to the trail.<p>

Boris narrowed his eyes as he watched Max walk away on the screen. The door opened and the men and women in black silently crept out behind the All Star. Boris then smirked. Max must have heard a noise, for he instantly started running up the trail as the men and women gave chase.

"Don't let him get away!" Boris snapped, causing those in the room with him to cover their ears.

Max continued running and glanced over his shoulder to see how many there were. Scenarios ran through his head on what his next move should be. Before he had a chance to decide there was a light sting in his back before his whole body was taken over with a sharp tingling feeling. He clumsily tripped over himself and fell face first on the trail, his muscles twitching as the men lifted him up off the ground. The All Star growled and attempted to break free but it was no use, he was paralyzed.

One of the women smirked and disconnected the wire from her stun gun and put it back in her holster before picking the prong off Max's back.

Boris smiled as he witnessed the black-clad group disappear with Max into the hidden doorway. He then demanded for a status report. The purple haired man was informed of the lighthouse incident and how the beybladers were scattered in various places over the island. The man frowned at hearing of the destruction.

"Who ordered Zeus to do that?"

"No one, sir."

"I see…maybe we can use this to our advantage." Boris nodded and picked up a microphone.

"Artemis, Zeus, return to base." he ordered.

* * *

><p>Artemis and Zeus had Spencer and Eddy in their sites when they received Boris' message. Artemis frowned and sent another glare in Zeus' direction who shrugged it off.<p>

"I have another target; if I get him…he'll make things easier for you." Artemis whispered in her radio.

"We have Draciel."

"Wha…? How."

"Return. Now. There's something we need to discuss." Boris said.

"Oh…Daddy doesn't approve." Zeus poked fun at Artemis.

"But Boris-"

"Patience. Don't worry; things are getting easier…return to base. I've made a few changes to your mission. Hurry, before you're spotted."

Artemis sighed and nodded. Zeus rolled his eyes and shrugged a little. Before leaving, she flashed a cold look at Spencer and Eddy who were searching for some fruit. She mentally apologized for not being able to take their beasts away, but promised to be back for them. After the long stare, she turned and followed Zeus back to the base.

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><p><strong>End of chapter 13. I'll try to upload 14 pretty fast, I already started writing it and it's moving right along. I realized I have somewhat neglected poor Brooklyn... anyway, I'll be uploading 14 as soon as possible for you guys so there will be much more Tala and Kai :)<strong>

**Please review!**

**Anonymous reviews welcome!**


	14. Powerless

**Hello! This chapter I feel as if I covered a lot of ground. ENJOY! Thank you for all the support! I mean that! Also, for an explanation about Wolborg see the bottom author's note.**

_**REVIEW!**_

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><p>With Max captured; Artemis and Zeus had returned to Boris as requested. Once they were there, Boris stood before them with his hands folded behind his back. Artemis stood before him with a serious expression while Zeus looked more laid-back and kept looking around the office. Artemis gave him a nudge to make him pay attention. Boris was silent as if he were trying to find the right words to say. After a while he spoke.<p>

"Zeus, what are your goals?" The man asked.

"Hm?"

"It's occurred to me that you may not share the same goals as Artemis."

A grin appeared on his face "That's true."

Artemis' eyebrow twitched as she tried to remain expressionless.

Boris glanced at her before looking back at Zeus, "Then please tell me what they are. You fought valiantly against Brooklyn for me, and then you attack the lighthouse when you weren't ordered to do so…I'm beginning to question your motives and wondering if you can be trusted."

Artemis went to vouch for Zeus when Boris stopped her. He did not question Artemis' determination, but he knew her judgment might become clouded when faced with questionable motives of another sacred beast. It was for that reason he had called them both in. Artemis wouldn't distrust one of her kind; she only distrusted humans, Zeus could very well betray them through small actions and Artemis would be none the wiser to them.

"Ah, why is everyone making such a big deal out of that?" Zeus sighed.

"I want an answer. Why did you do it?" Boris asked in a forceful tone.

"I wanted to have some fun."

"What?!" both Artemis and Boris exclaimed.

Zeus just shrugged, "If you really want to know, I thought it was a stupid idea to gather them all in one place like the lighthouse…for multiple reasons."

"Oh you did huh? Reasons like what?"

"Well…One: they all felt safe there with each other. Two: Artemis goes to collect Draciel and you think all of them are just going to let her? She wouldn't be able to take on all those beasts alone, sorry let's face it…she's not THAT powerful. Three: it was fun. Four: You have Draciel now. Five: I was bored standing around doing nothing all day. Five part 2: I wanted them to feel fear, it's much more entertaining to watch your prey writhe as you watch the fear in their eyes grow, as they beg you for mercy, as they scream out for their beasts to protect them. Six: With them all separated they're afraid, they won't be able to concentrate and will be easier to defeat."

"So all because you wanted to have fun?" Boris frowned.

"That's part of it…I don't really care about this plot of yours. I just want to be on the hunt again." Zeus smiled.

Artemis shook her head "This entire time? Where's your pride Zeus!? These humans seal us away and use us in humiliating games and you just want to have fun?!"

"Does it matter what I want? As long as we get the job done, right?" He asked.

Artemis couldn't argue with that. As long as Zeus was being cooperative what more could be asked of him. He could not want the same as Artemis and Boris. Boris was not convinced though. He believed it was Zeus recklessness because things were "boring" might be their downfall.

"Zeus. If you would come with me for a moment." Boris said and started to walk away.

Zeus looked at Artemis for a while before following the purple haired man.

"Artemis, you can wait in the observer's room. I'll need you later." Boris told her before disappearing around a corner with Zeus.

Boris led him into the laboratory, and the scientists noticeably tensed up at Boris and Zeus' presence. Zeus looked around smirking at all the scientists, as if he were happy to see the stress on their faces. The purple haired man led him to an incubation tube with Brooklyn inside of it. Boris waited a moment before looking at Zeus.

"Recognize him?" Boris asked.

"Nope. Should I?" Zeus looked back at Boris.

"No. Good, it's not like I thought; then. Zeus, we may need you again. Stay close and don't do anything reckless." The purple haired man ordered before looking at the scientists, nodding his head.

Brooklyn was floating in the green liquid with wires connected to him. His face still had a demented grin and his eyes were still glowing green with slits for pupils. The scientists began to drain the liquid and stood back, not knowing what Brooklyn would do once he was out.

* * *

><p>Tala winced, opening his eyes he looked around at the dark room. He grunted a little as he forced himself to sit up. His blue eyes scanned the surroundings, trying to make sense of what was going on, so far there was nothing but darkness.<p>

"Where am I…?" He asked himself and felt a feeling of déjà vu. As he shifted his body to climb off the long metal table, his hand connected with something. Straining to see what it was he picked it up. It was a beyblade and launcher placed by his side.

Bright over-head lights turned on one by one and revealed his location. Squinting and shielding his eyes, he peeked out over his arm to see he was in an arena. It was a big wide-open space with tall walls and a high ceiling. A small observation box could be seen near the ceiling with Artemis standing inside it. Tala didn't know it, but this was the same Arena where Brooklyn had met his fate.

"Grrr…I'm sick of being a lab rat!" He snapped and jumped off the table, forgetting about his wounds momentarily.

Artemis scowled down at Tala as their gaze connected. Artemis hated the site of him. His words about being a lab rat brought her joy. Now he would know what its like to be used in a pathetic game against his will. Tala was glaring at the girl, feeling the same thing she was, hatred. She was just another one of Boris' pawns who he'd throw away; she was contradicting her cause.

"Who are you?" Tala demanded.

"It's none of your concern, but you won't last so I might as well tell you." She spoke in a cold and indifferent tone.

"Tch…"

"I'm the one who will make you understand the cruelty you humans put us through."

"What are you talking about? What do you mean put "us" through?"

"You use us in that stupid game; you imprison us and only use us to do your bidding!" Artemis yelled.

Tala was quiet and narrowed his eyes. _Is she a bit-beast? No, how is that possible? Bit-beasts are spirits, they don't appear human to us. _

He thought back to the time he saw the bright light in the sky. It was her power, and it was enough to disintegrate Brooklyn's beyblade. In order for her to do that, they had to be beybattling so why would she participate in a game she hated. The wolf bit his lip as he pieced it together. If she was a bit-beast and battled Brooklyn, it would explain her power. It was unfiltered, she had no owner to discover it and become one with her.

_A bit-beast with a human form…But how?!_

Tala blinked and gasped when he remembered Boris walking off with Wolborg's bit.

_No way…that can't be it. It has to be something else! _

An image of Brooklyn in the incubation tube popped into his mind. A chain reaction started and he remembered the dark power that took him over right before he lost consciousness. Two years ago when Boris attempted to connect his spirit with Wolborg's and eliminate his emotions to ensure 100% victory. A look of uneasiness, disgust, and anger was visible on Tala's face.

Boris was somehow giving bit-beasts bodies and using them to get to the rest of them. His hands clenched into fists as the thought made him sick. Instead of hiring new bladers, he just went straight to the source of power: sacred beasts.

Tala looked back up at Artemis who flashed him a cold stare. An automatic door opened behind her and Boris stepped into the box. The redhead could barely contain himself and yelled.

"Where's Kai?! What did you do to Brooklyn-and give me back Wolborg you creep!" He snapped.

Boris only smirked "You'll learn all of that in due time." he taunted.

Artemis glanced at Boris before looking back at Tala. She felt a hand placed on her shoulder as Boris leaned down to her, whispering something into her ear.

"Do what you will…"he whispered, giving her permission to control Tala's match before walking out of the room. Artemis smirked down at Tala who retaliated with a glare. She was a little disappointed; he was already exhausted, burned, injured, and didn't have his sacred beast…yet he wasn't trembling or showing any signs of pain.

_He'll be difficult to break…_She thought.

_I'm not going to lose to someone-something like you…_Tala thought.

"Well…let's begin." Artemis said and hit a button on the control panel.

Automatic launchers pointed at Tala. He growled and prepared his beyblade and launcher.

_If I can use this to buy some time I can get a good look at this place and find a way out. Just don't tire yourself out…just play into their hands for now…_Tala thought, already making up an escape plan.

The automatic launchers shot beyblades at Tala as he aimed and pulled the ripcord. He winced from pain as his beyblade left the launcher with a shaky start. It didn't matter though, his new beyblade tore through the others with little effort. Tala smirked a little, thinking if this was the best she could do then it was pathetic, however, there was a nagging in the back of his mind that said it'd get much worse. Artemis stood in the observer's box with an indifferent look, knowing that Tala would be harder to break.

The redhead felt the exhaustion in his body and tried to hide it. He hadn't been given a chance to recover other than being knocked out here and there. More automatic launchers pointed at him and fired beyblades. His was still spinning and took them out one by one once again.

"Not bad." Artemis said "but you won't be able to keep that up for long."

* * *

><p>Boris walked down a long hallway before entering the labs once again. This lab was different though, it wasn't the one with the incubation tubes, and this particular one was more horrifying. The scientists kept all their faces covered and wore heavy looking lab coats. It was impossible to see what gender they were from looking at the body or listening to the voice since they all spoke with the same mechanical tone.<p>

They were huddled around one machine as a light glowed from it. As Boris walked closer he saw what was causing the light. Wolborg's bit was inside the machine with wires hooked up to it. The group stood around it writing notes down on clipboards before some blue electricity spiraled around the wires and went into the bit. The light started to glow brighter as a faint howl was heard.

"Will it be ready soon?" Boris asked.

"Yes, sir." One nodded.

"We've begun on Black Dranzer as well, sir. Draciel is next on the list. What would you have us do with Dranzer?"

"Hm. Well Artemis all ready knows we have Dranzer. If the others have a body and he doesn't she'll suspect something…it's to soon to enlighten her. Work on Dranzer next but lessen his priority." Boris said coldly.

"Sir." they nodded.

The electricity became stronger and crackling sounds were heard as Wolborg's spirit was drawn out of the bit and transferred to a body on a nearby gurney. The body was female with pure white skin and long silver-ish blue hair that flowed down to the back of her knees. She wore a long elegant white dress that hugged her body until it got to her hips, from there it flowed and was lose fitting.

A glowing blue light was seen heading down the wires and into the body. It was like a soul surrounding the mechanical body before it disappeared. Her eyes slowly opened and were pure white; no pupil, no iris, just white. Robotically she sat up, making the scientists and Boris flinch.

"None of them woke up this fast…" One of the scientists nodded.

"Well that's good news isn't it?" Boris asked, looking at the girl.

"I-it's hard to say…" another one said.

Clear grey blue eyes became visible as the girl stood up, the wires snapping from her body as she did so. She stumbled a little but gained balance in no time.

"Wolborg…" Boris smirked.

"What's it like to now be free once more?"

Wolborg didn't answer. She kept quiet with an icy stare that sent shivers even down Boris' spine. The wolf spirit long ago who he had captured and locked into Tala's bit was now standing face to face with him. A smirk crossed his face. Zeus didn't remember Brooklyn after they tweaked with the bit-beast's data, and he knew Wolborg would not remember Tala.

"The quiet type huh?" Boris asked her, still smirking.

The other scientists nodded, agreeing unanimously that they had finally succeeded in extracting a completely obedient bit-beast.

"Right, now that we know what data to use, let's begin on Black Dranzer. Full production. Use the same process." The 'leader' of them ordered.

Boris motioned Wolborg to follow him as he left the lab. Wolborg followed obediently but shot an icy glare back at the scientists.

* * *

><p>Tala dodged the beyblades flying at him and tore threw them once he landed. It was just like the tests he had to do in the Abbey. It left him with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as the nostalgia took him over.<p>

"I'm sick of this!" He snapped. Once the beyblades were destroyed and the next round was being prepared he looked at the observer's box.

"What's your problem?!"

Artemis narrowed her eyes "I all ready told you why I hate all of you. You don't listen either, obviously."

"You're the one who's working with some weirdo and terrorizing a bunch of people minding their own business! All for our bit-beasts? Yet you work with someone like Boris? That makes no sense! Do you have any idea what that man has done?!" Tala frowned; readying his launcher once again.

"It's probably because he thinks differently about the sacred spirits. He wants them freed! He's helping me achieve freedom for my brothers and sisters!" Artemis yelled back at him.

"Are you kidding me?! Boris of all people wouldn't care about freeing the bit-beasts! He's just posing as some 'savior' offering you something that's too good to be true! Once he exploits your desperation he brainwashes you to get what he wants! He wants the bit-beasts powers for himself! To him they are nothing but weapons of war!" the wolf snapped.

He launched his beyblade and dodged the oncoming blades that were hurdling towards him. He was getting tired. Tala couldn't keep going much longer. Each time he destroyed a beyblade he felt his body weaken. First the injuries he sustained from the fire, his injuries from his battle with Kai, and being attacked by some strange dark power, now fighting against beyblades non-stop while some bit-beast taunted him. It was insane!

"You're lying! You had an artificial beast in your possession! You created a beast just so you could have power! Boris is helping me! You are opposing me! You're the enemy! I know who you are. You're Tala Valkov! Former world champion and the runner up to last year's tournament, leader of the Blitzkrieg Boys, you participate in this stupid game with pride! You use your fake beast just to win!" Artemis snapped back, losing her controlled attitude. Tala got under her skin, much more than Brooklyn or any of the others had.

"What good would lying do me at a time like this? Who do you think GAVE me Wolborg? It was Boris! My team, how convenient the Demolition Boys wouldn't be mentioned and me. We all have bit-beasts who's sacred spirit was drawn out of them and put in our blades, it was Boris who did it! He wanted to create beasts stronger than any natural one could be. It doesn't stop there either, as if creating the beasts weren't enough for him he wanted to capture all of them! Dragoon, Dranzer, Draciel, Driger…the list is endless! He even planned to use the Black Dranzer! I'm going to assume I don't need to explain that abomination!" He yelled.

"Liar!" Artemis growled and typed several buttons on the control panel. More beyblades were launched at him until he was outnumbered completely. Tala tried his best to fight all the beyblades off but it was no use. His was so badly damaged and his body was too weak.

He fell to one knee and panted.

"I'm lying huh…? You don't think Boris could do that? He gave you a body didn't he? You think he doesn't know how to create bit-beasts!? All the bit-beasts he stole- he tried to control by connecting them to one person, that person was _me_. That's why I left. Boris doesn't care, it's all about him. There's plenty of other bladers with bit-beasts who aren't on this island. Jin of the Gale, The Majestics…and many more! If he cared about freeing them, why aren't all the others HERE?!" he snapped and stood up.

His blade gained power and forced the group of opposing blades backwards.

Artemis looked a little horrified as she say Tala gain so much strength out of nowhere. She frowned and launched more beyblades at him, but his words were buzzing around in her head.

"The reason is because I ruined his second attempt at controlling everything through beyblading. Getting us out of the way would let him do whatever he wants. He's just lying to you so you do as he asks."

The anger in his voice rose as his power increased. The look on his face even frightened Artemis to some degree and made her wonder if what he was saying had any truth to it. She shook her head, tossing out everything he said before launching another series of beyblades at him.

Tala looked determined but also looked like he'd pass out. He took a breath and sent his blade out again, not letting up for a second.

_If I can get those launchers on the wall to malfunction…_The wolf glanced at the wall with all the launchers. He jumped back and dodged as more tried to hit him. The arena was sealed off; there was no way he could get out of there by himself. There had to be a lever or a button on the control panel in the control panel. His icy blue eyes glanced up at the observer's room. If he could shatter the glass and somehow get into the observers box, he could escape through the automatic doors.

_It could work. _The wolf nodded. _I'll take her out while I'm up there._

Before the next series of blades could be launched, Tala sent his beyblade up the wall and crashing into the automatic launchers. His eyes narrowed once he saw how severely his blade was wobbling and had to pull back.

"No…" he glared.

Artemis frowned, understanding what he was trying to do, and laughed at his failed attempt.

Tala growled before looking up at her, "Out of curiosity, what are you going to do once you get all of us on the island? There are other bladers, powerful bladers, who aren't here. Once Boris gets what he wants. Where does that leave you?" He asked with a steady but angry voice. He was almost pleading with her. He was desperately trying to reach her.

Artemis frowned at him and pointed the reloaded launchers at him. Tala scoffed and decided he was finished wasting his breath, he had to focus on escaping now.

The automatic doors opened behind Artemis, causing her to jump and turn around. She sighed when she saw it was only Boris. The purple haired man walked up next to her and smirked when he saw the condition Tala was in.

"Oh Tala, you're still as strong as I remember. I'm ashamed to say I have underestimated you yet again." He taunted.

Tala growled, "Whatever you're going to do just do it. I'm tired of being toyed with."

"If you wish." Boris smiled and hit a button that opened two double doors in front of Tala.

The red head instinctively stepped back, straining to see what was in the darkness. To his surprise, Wolborg stepped out of the shadows and stood a few feet away from him.

"W…Wolborg…?" Tala blinked.

Artemis looked just as surprised as Tala but frowned in confusion. "Shiva…? " Artemis whispered.

_That spirit…it's not artificial._ She thought. She was positive all of Tala's team had artificial sacred beasts but in front of her stood what she knew as a real one.

_No…it's just a cheap imitation. It's not her. _Artemis looked at it with disgust.

"Wolborg!" Tala yelled "Hey! Can you hear me? Wolborg!"

Wolborg didn't respond and stared silently at Tala with cold, dead eyes.

_Wolborg. Wolborg…not Shiva._ Artemis convinced herself.

The ice woman raised her arm that had an automatic launcher on it and was getting ready to launch it. Tala sighed and had no choice but to defend himself with his left over, badly damaged beyblade. He couldn't take his eyes off her. He looked sick but also like he understood.

"So that's how you're doing it…with Dr. Zagart's research-"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Boris interrupted him and ordered Wolborg to fight Tala.

Wolborg launched first and a trail of mist followed her blade. It was aimed directly at Tala who jumped out of the way and fired his. While he was still in mid-air, Wolborg's blade sent out ice spikes, catching him off guard, one of them almost impaled him. The redhead twisted in the air to avoid the spikes but one grazed his left side.

He landed clumsily and looked at the scratch. It didn't look too bad, he had just gotten lucky the spike hadn't made a direct hit; otherwise he'd be missing that side of his rib cage. The wolf painfully looked at his bit-beast. She used an attack he hadn't developed yet. Her beyblade charged at Tala's with speed he had never seen before, fog surrounded it, and a trail of ice was left behind the beyblade that stretched outwards.

The redhead dodged again, shocked at the power he didn't know his own bit-beast had. Boris smirked as he saw Tala's futile attempt at escaping. Wolborg attacked again and this time the Blitzkrieg Boy was caught in a hailstorm. Desperately trying to shield himself from the pieces of hail crashing into his body, he sustained more injuries. Welts and cuts appeared on his skin, his burns were especially painful when hit with the hail.

"Aaaahh!" Tala yelled in frustration as he sent a powerful icy wind out around him and blew back the hail.

Boris chuckled to himself as he silently urged Tala to give into his primal instincts. Artemis' brow furrowed as she glanced at Boris then back at the redhead. Tala hunched over slightly which gave him a feral appearance. A chilling aura around him; his head hung down and shadowed the majority of his face and his breathing was heavier, sounding like snarls. Tala's skin had become pale and light blue, like someone who had been frozen, his hair had became a blood red color and his icy blue eyes had a glow to them; his sclera's (white of the eye) were dark which only made his iris' more apparent, and he now had fangs.

Wolborg had stopped attacking him and just stared when she realized his aura had changed. Without being told she turned her back and exited the arena the way she entered. Boris was pleased at the obedience of her. Artemis had her same emotionless expression but in her mind nothing made sense. She had distrusted Boris from the beginning, Zeus had acted on his own and talked back to even her, but the bit-beast called 'Wolborg' had not spoke, had not been told to attack, and had not been given any orders by Boris. This bothered Artemis. If Wolborg were an artificial bit-beast then she would be hard wired to obey Tala. She had concluded the artificial bit-beasts would be harder for them to convince and that's why she was against working with them.

Without thinking Artemis looked at Boris and asked, "What did you do to her?"

"Just gave her a body, like I did with you and Zeus." Boris said innocently.

Artemis frowned slightly, "That's all? It's an artificial bit-beast that willingly turned on its master so easily? I would think that they'd be the ones who would be the hardest to convince-"

"You worry too much, just trust me Artemis, she's acting out of her own will."

Artemis was quiet and wondered if artificial bit-beasts could have their own will. Her doubt was rising with Wolborg's actions and Tala's words.

"Her own will…huh?" Artemis asked, and then nodded.

Boris smiled and looked at Tala who was giving the scientists trying to apprehend him a very difficult time. His transformation was very different than Brooklyn's but acting irrational seemed to be the common symptom. Artemis sighed as she watched.

After a while she looked at Boris again "What's the point of doing this to them?"

"So they understand what it feels like to be used. You said yourself didn't you Artemis? They're weak so they rely on their bit-beasts strength, now they're the ones being used for the same purpose." He grinned.

"I see. What about after we collect all the sacred spirits?" She asked.

"After?"

"Yes. All the humans on this island, this will be their fate? What about after we get them all?" Artemis asked.

"All in good time. Let's not jump ahead and overwhelm ourselves."

She paused and stared at him for a while, "Why won't you tell me?"

"We don't want to overwhelm ourselves. I have a plan, don't worry Artemis. What's gotten into you, I wonder?"

"Nothing…I just wanted to make sure you have a plan. Now that we've weakened them…they'll try to fight harder."

"Which will all be a futile attempt." Boris smirked.

"Yes…" She hesitantly agreed.

"Dranzer and Draciel are next on the list. Zeus and Brooklyn have already headed out so feel free to rest yourself." The purple haired man told her.

"What…?"

"I won't need you for a little while, you've been working very hard, so go ahead and rest." he said again.

Artemis nodded and exited the observer's box but looked over her shoulder to watch Boris before the automatic doors closed. She turned forward again and continued walking when Wolborg crossed her paths in the hallway. Wolborg was walking towards the labs while Artemis was heading towards the offices. Artemis stopped in her tracks but Wolborg didn't pay her any attention and continued walking.

"Shiva!" Artemis shouted when Wolborg passed her.

Wolborg stopped and glanced over her shoulder at Artemis who smiled at the acknowledgment.

"I knew it…It's you isn't it? Shiva? It's really you?" Artemis asked hopefully.

Wolborg said nothing and just stared at Artemis who was waiting desperately for an answer. There was silence for a few seconds until Wolborg continued walking again, leaving Artemis standing in the hallway. Artemis frowned as she watched the other bit-beast treat her so coldly, but was certain who 'Wolborg' was now.

Artemis pondered for a little while "Demolition Boys…" she muttered, deciding to do a little research.

* * *

><p>Kai was fading in and out of consciousness from being electrocuted. His vision blurred in and out as he stared at the ceiling. He winced a little and realized he was on a table being taken somewhere. His vision finally stabilized and the scientists who were moving the table hadn't noticed. He would close his eyes whenever one of them looked at him, trying to make them think he was still unconscious.<p>

Kai pretended he was helpless in order to get his bearings. He memorized all the turns and how long it was taking them to get to wherever the destination was. The phoenix was waiting for the perfect moment to escape. They made it to the arena finally, the table came to a stop and the double doors opened. Kai jumped to his feet.

"What the!" One of the scientists yelled as Kai moved from the table and the doors to the arena opened.

The two-toned blader moved skillfully and kicked the table as hard as he could. The table forced the two scientists up against the wall as the metal collided with their bodies. Feeling triumphant Kai began to turn but saw familiar red hair out of his peripheral vision. It made him do a double take and his eyes widened as he saw what Tala had become. It paralyzed him, giving Tala enough time to attack him.

Kai snapped out of it and was staring into two glowing blue eyes. A feeling of fear overcame him but luckily he moved out of the way in time. Kai rolled on the ground and coughed a few times. Like Tala, Kai had been through many obstacles that weakened him and slowed his reflexes.

Boris noticed there was some commotion and Kai hadn't entered the arena yet. He contacted the scientists and asked what was going on. Once he learned Kai was conscious and Tala was attacking him, he ordered his subordinates to lock them in the arena together.

The scientists tried to recover from being assaulted with the metal table, while the other scientists who were in charge of transporting Tala to the labs tried to come up with a plan to lure both of them into the arena. Kai was kneeling on the ground and saw ice covering the floor and wall and continued growing. He glanced at his leader and stood up.

"Tala…" he hissed a little.

In truth Kai was worried at Tala's appearance. No, worried was an understatement, he was petrified at what had become of his teammate. While Kai was distracted the scientists tried to surround them. When Tala attacked him again Kai dodged and one of the scientists pushed Kai off balance.

"Ah!" Kai stumbled backwards as Tala gained on him and was punched hard in the stomach.

The two of them had been coaxed into the arena just as Boris had wanted, without either of them realizing it. The doors closed and Kai and Tala were locked in together. The two toned blader coughed and fell to his knees; clutching his stomach. His leader stood in front of him, standing up straight but looked severely off balance.

Kai glared up at him, "You'll pay for that…"

"Hehe…" Tala smirked a little and grabbed the front of Kai's shirt, lifting him off the ground. Kai grasped Tala's wrist and kicked him hard in the chest, forcing his leader to let go and pushing his body back. The phoenix skillfully landed and put distance between them.

"Very nice…" Boris' voice could be heard over the speakers.

Kai growled and looked up at the observer's box. "Boris! You did this to him, didn't you?!"

Before he could receive his answer, Tala had struck Kai down to the floor once more.

"Damn you…" Kai snapped.

Tala picked up the beyblade Wolborg had used and prepared to launch it. Kai looked at him with disdain and figured he had no choice but to knock Tala down to size. He reached for one of the beyblades on the floor that was the least damaged and took out his launcher.

Boris smirked as he watched.

"Sir. There's a problem…" A voice spoke to him through the control panel.

Boris' smirk disappeared "What is it?" he asked through his headset.

"There's an intruder."

"Intruders?! In the facility?!"

"No sir…on the island." The voice confessed.

"The island…? Well, who are they?! Capture them!" Boris snapped.

"Uh…we would but…we can't get a clear visual on any of the cameras."

"Bah. If you want something done right you have to do it yourself…fine, I'll be there shortly." he sighed.

With frustration and believing he had hired idiots he spoke to Kai through the speakers in the arena.

"I'm terribly sorry I'll have to leave you two boys alone for a few minutes. Play nice." Boris said mockingly before leaving Kai to his fate.

The phoenix gritted his teeth as Boris disappeared from the observer's box. Kai had no choice but to defend himself against Tala's attacks.

* * *

><p>Boris walked back to the familiar room with all the screens. His minions at the computer looked at him with worried looks.<p>

"Well, spit it out. Who are the intruders?!" Boris snapped.

"We've lost sight of them, sir." One of the women said.

"Are you kidding me?!"

"Here, I-I'll show you earlier footage." the woman stuttered and cut the live feed to show Boris a pre-recorded clip.

He walked up behind her and leaned forward to see it better. Having Boris so close to here made her extremely nervous. She searched through the clip and paused it at the right moment.

"Right there!" She shouted.

Boris looked at it, straining to see what it was. It just looked like a smudge on the lens, like some dirt or something had been stuck. Unsatisfied, he ordered her to rewind the clip and play it. It didn't help much, the smudge was moving but it was impossible to tell what it was. As the clip played the smudge disappeared into the trees.

"Hm…" Boris crossed his arms.

"Where are Brooklyn and Zeus now?" He asked.

The woman typed away on the computer and brought up a video feed of Brooklyn staggering through the forest.

"They're headed to the target, sir." The woman said.

Boris nodded but seemed puzzled about something. "High Quality cameras…and they get a smudge…" he scoffed. He contacted Zeus via his headset and ordered him to head to the direction the smudge was caught on the camera.

* * *

><p>Garland grasped a rock and hoisted himself up. Raul was slung over his shoulder and once he hit solid ground he gently laid Raul on the grass. The young twin was unconscious and a little bruised but other than that he was fine. Garland turned around and grabbed Michael's arm and pulled him up on the ledge.<p>

"Man…what on earth was all that about." Michael complained and punched the ground.

"I don't know…" Garland sighed, but was worried about the shadow that had covered the lighthouse.

Garland found the power familiar just as Mystel had, and recognized it as Brooklyn's.

"No point worry about that now…" The silver haired blader looked at Raul.

It went silent before Michael yelled in a frustrated tone and pounded his fist against his palm. "So much for a relaxing vacation!"

Frantic rustling was heard in the forest as the two of them tensed up. Garland and Michael gathered around Raul in order to protect him while Garland prepared his blade to be launched.

Eddie appeared from the forest, carrying fruit in his arms. "Michael! All right! I knew it!"

Michael's face lit up "Eddie!"

Spencer appeared right behind Eddie and was also carrying some fruit. Garland looked happy to see at least one Blitzkrieg all right.

Michael asked Eddie if there was anyone else and exchanged information. Eddie said Emily, Hilary, Kenny, and Aaron were all waiting by the shore as Spencer explained to the two that Eddie and himself went to look for food. Garland sighed and was hoping he'd run into some of his team but Spencer was thinking the same thing. He felt uncomfortable around anyone other than Tala, Bryan or Ian.

The four of them headed back while Garland carried Raul. It was lucky they had found food and some more survivors. Spencer stopped for a while and frowned.

"What's up?" Eddie asked and looked at him.

"I heard something…listen."

All the boys went quiet and could hear a faint snapping of twigs. Garland looked around and saw a figure stop by a tree. When he strained his eyes to see who it was, he gasped.

"Brooklyn!"

* * *

><p><strong>Ok the explanation for Wolborg. Well, in the Manga Wolborg was suppose to be the "king" of siberia that Boris captured. Also Wolborg is considered one of the most powerful sacred spirits like it's an original one, not a fake one. Kai even calls it "The Silver Wolf" like how the 4 main bit-beasts have a title focusing on the species and the color "The Red Phoenix" "The Black Turtle" "The White Tiger" "The Blue Dragon." And why did I make Wolborg a girl? In G-revolution there is a woman in white who appears before Wolborg does during the Novea Rog attack so I figured Wolborg might actually be a female beast. As for the name Shiva, the woman in white who appears was nicknamed Shiva by fans because of her similar appearance to Shiva of Final Fantasy 10, so I thought it'd be nice to just incorporate some of the fandom into this fic. <strong>

**I REALLY hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**REVIEW!**


	15. Saint

**Here it is everyone. The next chapter. What will befall our bladers in this one? ENJOOOOOY!**

**REVIEW!**

**ANONYMOUS REVIEWS WELCOME!**

* * *

><p>Brooklyn was propped against a tree, looking like a rag doll. His bangs shadowed his eyes but the twisted grin on his face was visible. Garland noticed his teammate wasn't right and began to think maybe Brooklyn was the one who destroyed the lighthouse. He set Raul on the ground where Michael could watch over him and cautiously started to walk towards Brooklyn.<p>

"Garland…get back here!" Spencer snapped.

Garland waved his arm at him, motioning that it was ok. He stood close to Brooklyn and grabbed him by his shoulders.

"Brooklyn? Are you all right? How did you get out of there?" he asked, shaking him lightly.

Brooklyn's head bobbled a little, like he was limp. Garland frowned and shook his harder.

"Brooklyn! Can you hear me?"

Spencer frowned and was watching them carefully. Something was wrong. Brooklyn didn't look normal at all. Again he tried to call Garland back to the group.

"Brooklyn!" Garland snapped.

This time Brooklyn lifted his head up slowly; revealing his bright green eyes with slit pupils.

"He needs the spirits…the spirits…" Brooklyn laughed insanely.

"What…? What are you talking about? What's 'spirits' suppose to mean?" Garland sounded confused.

"Garland…" Michael warned.

"Give me the spirits!" Brooklyn shouted as dark energy pushed Garland back.

He collided with Eddie and they feel to the floor. Brooklyn laughed and readied his launcher.

"I can hear it…It's speaking to me!" Brooklyn laughed.

"This is getting all kinds of crazy…" Eddy winced as he and Garland untangled themselves from the floor.

Garland looked at Brooklyn with a heartbroken look. He didn't consider that Brooklyn anymore. Boris had warped him so badly that Garland couldn't bear to look at him. Michael stood up and got ready to launch his blade.

Brooklyn didn't hesitate and sent his blade hurdling at them.

Spencer dropped the fruit and grabbed Raul "MOVE!" he shouted at the rest. Michael stubbornly launched his blade and it crashed with Brooklyn's.

"Michael!" Spencer snapped.

Friction was caused between the two blades as Brooklyn's dark power began to consume Trygle. A black hole appeared in front of the beyblades and grew outward. Garland, Eddy, Spencer and Raul had found salvation but painfully watched as the black hole began to consume Micheal. They watched the horrifying sight in awe.

"Michael!" Eddy shouted and began to run towards him. Garland grabbed Eddy's arm and held him back.

"Stop! You'll be gone too!"

"We can't just watch!" Eddy snapped back and prepared to launch. Spencer grabbed Eddy's launcher and forced him to lower it.

"Michael!" Spencer yelled "Retreat!"

Michael fought against the black void attempting to consume him and his beyblade.

"Uhg, No! I can't!" he argued.

Garland clenched his hand into his fist "Get away from him! He's a monster! He's not human anymore!"

It pained Garland to speak that way about Brooklyn, but it was true. Brooklyn was no longer human, or at least he appeared that way, it wasn't as if he had gone insane or was emotionally distraught…Brooklyn had become something else entirely.

Fear had taken over their body and prevented them from even running. They were the prey and Brooklyn was the predator. Spencer's thoughts were racing until he gritted his teeth and readied his launcher.

"Everyone launch. He can't fight against all of us!"

Eddy nodded and was completely ready for battle. Garland looked unsure but nodded and hesitantly readied his blade. Raul was still unconscious but was safe sitting near a tree.

The three moved in and launched their blades. Seaborg was the first to appear and helped Trygle fight off the void. Apollon appeared next with a bright light to fight off the darkness while Trypio skillfully circled Brooklyn's beyblade and prevented it from attacking. With team work they fought against Brooklyn's dark power.

"What?!" Brooklyn looked taken back at the bit-beasts fighting against him. After a moment of silence he violently waved his hand and sent a wave of black smoke their way. It was like being stuck in a whirlwind full of toxic poison. The boys coughed and tried to hold their breath.

"We…we have to do this now!" Garland yelled.

He couldn't take his eyes off Brooklyn. After a moment of uneasiness Garland called for his Radiant Thunder attack as the others called for their ultimate attack as well. Eddy's Trypio attacked first and immobilized the beyblade, Trygle side-swiped it with a swift attacked and knocked it directly into Apollon's light show.

"No!" Brooklyn yelled. "I need the spirits! I need them!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Seaborg appeared and swallowed Brooklyn's beyblade.

Brooklyn held his head in pain and cried out again, falling to his knees, he watched the bit-beasts swarm around him as if Brooklyn himself was a bit-beast.

"It's….it's filthy! You're all filthy!" he snapped "Be gone!"

Brooklyn cringed down and another ray of black smoke shot out and entangled the bit-beasts as well as the bladers.

"Get out! Leave me alone! It's not my fault!" he shouted "Not my fault! I just wanted the spirits! Not my fault!" he yelled over and over again.

Spencer struggled against the dark strains of smoke restraining him. His eyes widened when he saw Seaborg entangled as well.

"Seaborg!" he shouted with concern.

He looked from side to side, trying to find Garland or one of the others but he was blinded by the smoke. Another wave of smoke shot out and encompassed Spencer's body until he couldn't see Seaborg any longer. A putrid smell stung his nose but faded quickly.

Spencer coughed once the toxic smoke faded away. He pulled himself off the ground and looked up. Brooklyn was gone and four severely damaged beyblades laid in front of him. Garland grunted in pain and crawled towards Apollon.

"What happened…?" Garland picked it up and inspected it. He gasped when he saw the bit had been blacked out.

"Apollon!"

Spencer picked up his beyblade and looked at it. Seaborg was still visible but the bit had dull scuff marks on it.

"I wonder what on earth this means…" Spencer said to himself.

"Michael…Michael!" Eddy shouted and shook an unconscious Michael awake.

"Stop yelling, will you?" Michael painfully sat up and rubbed his head. He turned his head to look at the battle site and his eyes widened.

The are where Brooklyn had been standing was decaying.

"You guys too…"Garland said.

The silver-haired blader had picked up Trypio and Trygle; only to see the bits' blacked out like his own. He shifted his eyes to where Brooklyn had been. All the trees and grass Brooklyn's power had come into contact with was dead or decaying.

Eddy helped Michael walk and they took their blades back, shocked at the damage and black bit. No one had an explanation for it or knew the meaning. They also couldn't figure out why Seaborg's bit was unharmed.

Garland stared longingly into the forest as he waited for Brooklyn to appear once more. He wanted to find Brooklyn and save him somehow.

Spencer just sighed and put his beyblade away. The tall Blitzkrieg went to collect Raul and take him back to the shore. As they walked back he told Eddy and the others to collect some more fruit, seeing how all they had collected was rotting from Brooklyn's attack.

* * *

><p>Boris watched on the cameras and smirked as Brooklyn moved like a rag doll through the forest. He moved his eyes to the next screen and inspected Zeus' work. Zeus was still poking around the tree where the "smudge" had been spotted.<p>

"I don't know what you saw but there's noooooooooothing here. Well…I mean except for birds, leaves, trees, grass-"

"That's enough, Zeus." Boris sighed. "Return to base then."

"And what about the mindless puppet?" Zeus asked, referring to Brooklyn.

Boris looked up at the screen where Brooklyn was.

"He's making his way to the shore, he'll be fine…all is going wonderfully." he smirked. The base rumbled and made some of the workers uneasy. Boris only sighed in slightly frustration.

"Oh yes, I forgot about those two…" Boris ordered them to bring up some video feed from the arena where Tala and Kai were battling.

Once the feed was brought up, it had appeared the camera had frost on the lens and had been strongly tilted to the right, that was most likely from Tala's attack. Boris was a little irritated he now had to fix that camera but at the same time he was giddy at seeing the damage Tala could inflict to his surroundings. He already decided who Brooklyn would fight, he now had to figure out where he'd send Tala.

"Hahaha…that boy would send them all to the ice age, wouldn't he?" Boris laughed.

The workers didn't answer. Instead they looked horrified at the chaos. The purple haired man loved the fact Tala hadn't lost his edge or bloodthirst, he wondered how Kai would be under Black Dranzer's influence and was dying to see the damage Bryan would inflict once they captured him.

"If there's nothing there you can sense, come back to base." Boris spoke to Zeus through the headset and watched as the live feed from the forest.

Zeus began walking back when the video had suddenly shut off.

"Hn…?" Boris scowled.

"Just a moment sir…" One of the techs said as they typed away.

"Camera 10098 offline, camera 78493 offline, camera 58433 offline…sir, the camera's covering that entire area have been shut off." Another one said.

"What…? Zeus! Zeus can you hear me?!" Boris yelled into the headset.

Zeus looked behind him and saw a short hooded figured in front of him.

"I'll be back in a bit. Looks like there is someone else here, I'll handle it." He grinned.

"An intruder?!" Boris snapped, suddenly he was uneasy about the camera's going offline. He wondered who the intruder could be, there was no footage captured so he had no clue.

"Can you see them?" Boris asked.

Zeus was getting ready to launch his beyblade "They're wearing a cloak. Don't worry, just a small fry Boris, I'll bring them back to you when I get done with them."

"Make sure you-"

"I know." Zeus grinned.

Boris frowned and ordered his staff to scan the screens carefully for any more 'smudges'.

* * *

><p>The cloaked figure stood in front of Zeus and readied his launcher as well. Zeus smirked and his eyes grew wide as he laughed demented when the blade was launched. The cloaked figure launched a green beyblade that dodged Zeus' blade.<p>

"Hm?" Zeus quirked and eyebrow.

The cloaked figure smirked as his beyblade mainly avoided Zeus until it struck it with a powerful attack and dodged again.

"Oh….you're fun." Zeus laughed before unleashing his King of Darkness attack. Quickly Zeus' spirit leapt at the figure and the beyblade; attempting to ensnare it in the black water. Zeus revealed his fangs and teeth but out of nowhere was struck again with a powerful attack.

The dark spirit was knocked backwards as was his beyblade. His attack had completely been nullified by cloaked bladers attack. Zeus frowned and looked up from underneath his black bangs. Once again Zeus unleashed his attack, but this one was different, everything around them turned black and it was impossible to see anything.

The cloaked blader kept calm as if he already knew how to escape. All around him, frightening green eyes opened and watched his every move and a mocking laughter was heard.

"Realm of insanity." Zeus' voice echoed within the laughter.

Several of Zeus' beyblade appeared and started hammering the green beyblade. Each beyblade seemed real, but when the green blade tried attacking any of them they would evaporate into smoke, reappear, and unleash a devastating attack.

The green beyblade bounced between the mirages, sustaining damage, while the green eyes watched and the mocking laughter continued. The cloaked figure ordered his beyblade to attack once more but this time it charged at one of the mirages then at last minute dodged and shot at another mirage, not attacking any of them, instead; this tactic confused Zeus and allowed the green beyblade to launch a sneak attack.

After faking it's attack it gained speed and shot through each and every mirage like a stampeding elephant. Once it tore through all the mirages there was only one beyblade left which the green blade plowed with full force.

Zeus was shocked at the power, none of the bladers on the island had this kind of power and what was the strangest thing about the cloaked blader is that he had not called on a bit-beast.

"Oooh…" Zeus watched the figure and smirked a little "I wonder how powerful your bit-beast is."

"Hahaha, you're disappointing. I thought the 'King of Darkness' would be more of a challenge!" he laughed.

"What?!" Zeus' eyes narrowed to slits "You want a challenge, you got it!"

Black wings appeared from Zeus' back as he rose up into the air along with the beyblade. His realm of insanity had been crushed by the newcomer and he had to resort to a different attack. This one was named 'Abyss'

From where Zeus was, dark clouds gathered behind him in a swirling motion, blacking out everything. Below the bladers feet a pool of what looked like blood seeped from the soil as pale arms with long, thick, fingernails grabbed the blader and began pulling him under.

At first the cloaked blader was taken by surprise but returned to his calm yet cocky attitude. He launched another attack from his green beyblade and called out a name of the bit-beast. Zeus smirked and attempted to counter, but he couldn't see the bit-beast, instantly he thought it was another decoy until his blade had been slammed once more by the cloaked blader's. A powerful force knocked against Zeus as well and he slowly felt his spirit weaken. His wings vanished in a flurry of black feathers as he hit the ground with his beyblade landing motionless beside him.

"I…I…lost….?" Zeus' eyes wided.

A dark aura surrounded him as his spirit continued to weaken, as if his spirit was being drawn from the robotic body. Zeus wrapped his arms around himself and shook with rage as the dark aura grew.

"I never lose…no, not me. When I parted from that wretched human! That was the end of it! He's weak! Not me!" He snapped.

His body began trembling as the realization he lost sunk in. "I…I'm the predator…I hunt, I kill, I don't get caught, I don't die!" A black smoke surrounded him and decayed everything in sight as Zeus forced himself to stand up.

The cloaked blader walked closer, just tilting his head. Zeus rose shakily to his legs only to fall again. The green beyblade circled around Zeus and his blade before a glowing light came from the bit.

"No! I'm not prey!" Zeus screamed at the top of his lungs as he was drawn into the green beyblade. His dark spirit left the body and was now imprisoned in the bit of the green beyblade.

The cloaked beyblader removed his hood to reveal spikey green hair and caught the beyblade with ease. Looking at the face of it he smirked a little.

"Boy, Ozuma won't like this…will he? Well. Better go tell him." He smiled before hopping into the tree.

Zeus' body was nothing more than a faceless mannequin laying in the forest now. The shell began to crumble do to the dark power still surrounding it and was reduced to nothing but rust.

* * *

><p>"Tala! Stop! It's me! It's me, Kai!" Kai pleaded as he dodged another attack from his teammate.<p>

The battle had been going on for a good 20 minutes and Kai wasn't able to get one hit on Tala. The arena had become cold and incased in ice, making it hard for the blue-toned hair blader to maneuver his beyblade and body. Although he was better than most beybladers he wasn't as good as Tala.

The redhead's element was ice. He was experienced and could function in the cold and beyblade in ice, sleet, and snow much better than Kai could. Tala could also directly manipulate the enviroment without the use of Wolborg now, while Kai was fighting a once sided battle without Dranzer, a fire Phoenix, that could directly counter Tala's ice.

Kai tried desperately to shield the blizzard being shot at him but his limbs had already gone numb and he couldn't stop shivering. He still tried to get through to Tala and make him stop attacking but it was no use. The Phoenix realized that his teammate's reason was gone, but for some reason he just couldn't stop calling out to him.

Tala sent ice spikes at Kai who had trouble dodging them all. One shot passed his side and pinned his shirt to the wall. The wolf took this chance to finish him off. Kai attempted to tear away but the redheads speed was beyond human capabilities. The entire time Tala's beyblade had been knocking Kai's around with; pieces of the attack ring being chipped away.

Tala appeared directly in front of Kai as he was in the process of ripping his shirt from the spike. Tala's luminescent blue eyes coldly stared at Kai as he struck his abdomen hard, a white light and an icy wind surrounded his body as the wall behind him began to freeze, then crack from the exertion of such force.

Kai coughed and fell through the weakened wall and laid there motionless. Tala towered over him in a semi-crouch. Each second he seemed to be fading into a more feral and beast-like creature. His blues looked ahead at the long and narrow hallway. His posture straightened as he slowly and clumsily staggered down it. Even though he was standing up straight he wavered as he walked as if he was walking on tilted ground.

The two beyblades he had left behind had both stopped spinning.

* * *

><p>The Majestics had flown to Japan in order to talk to Mr. Dickenson about the disappearances' of so many of the beybladers. There was a quick brainstorm of what could have happened. Robert informed Mr. D that they had not received the letter in the mail. The other members of The Majestics agreed as well. They had been sent nothing.<p>

"I just don't understand what's happening…" Mr. Dickenson sounded exasperated.

"We'll find them. We just need to figure out what beybladers are still here. It's obvious that not all of the teams have gone missing." Johnny suggested.

"No, that's true. You're still here." Mr. D nodded.

"So why weren't we considered?" Enrique asked and exchanged looks with Oliver.

At that moment, Judy entered the room.

"I think I discovered a way to find them!" She sounded hopeful.

Hiro and and Mr. Granger looked at each other. They had been called on their archeology trip by Grandpa when word got out of Tyson's disappearance and hurried down to the BBA.

"What is it Judy?" Mr. Tate asked.

"Emily! She carries her computer around with her everywhere. It being property of the PPB All Stars has a GPS tracking device in it!" She exclaimed.

"Wha-? Why didn't we know about this sooner?!" Mr. Dickenson asked.

"I didn't think of it until just now! I don't know why it didn't occur to me, but that's not important, we may finally have a lead!"

The Majestics looked at each other in surprise but Robert seemed weary of the idea.

"Judy, what if the signal is lost?" he asked.

"Impossible! The satellite will pick it up." she nodded.

With hope, Judy tried to trace Emily's signal while the other looked on. Mr. Dickenson broke out in a nervous sweat and wiped it away with a handkerchief.

They waited, and waited, and waited, but nothing was found. A few hours passed and still there was nothing.

"No… impossible. This can't be!" Judy frowned.

"What is it?" Mr. Granger asked.

"There's no signal! It's like they vanished into thin air!"

"That can't be!" Mr. Tate exclaimed.

"Judy, is there any reason for this to happen? Interference perhaps?" Hiro asked.

"Well…of coarse that's possible but the only way for the signal to be lost completely is for the GPS itself to be destroyed." she said.

Johnny, Enrique, and Oliver all looked at each other.

"So…how do we find someone…" Johnny said.

"Who vanished into thin air?" Oliver finished.

* * *

><p><strong>I was in a bit of a hurry to finish this chapter, so I apologize if anything is rushed. I hope you enjoyed!<strong>

**REVIEW!**

**ANONYMOUS REVIEW WELCOME!**


	16. Borderline

**Well everyone. New chapter. I hope there's not too many errors in this one .U It's not as rushed as the last chapter, but still pretty rushed. **

**So, just a quick update on me. I got a job! :D But no worries guys, I will remain faithful with my updates. I usually try to update at least once a month, but for you guys, i'll try to squeeze in another one before the end of Oct. :D Just because I appreciate all the support I have gotten from you all. Thank you so much for all your feedback! Please continue to review!**

**ANONYMOUS REVIEWS WELCOME**

* * *

><p>Bryan sighed as he looked over the wreckage of the lighthouse. The White Tigers were able to get some fish and the group had built a small fire to cook them with. Daichi had found various pieces of food from around the near forest and began to cook it as well.<p>

"Daichi…are you sure we can eat those mushrooms?" Tyson asked suspiciously.

"Jeez, for the 100th time yes!" Daichi sounded irritated.

"They better not be those weird 'magic' mushrooms that make people wig out."

"They're not! Those mushrooms have spots on them; these are fine, if you don't want any well…more for me!" Daichi sounded snotty near the end of his sentence.

"If only we had a pot. Then I could just make soup for everyone." Mariah nodded.

"Yeah, with salt water…" Kevin sighed.

It went quiet for a while as the group ate in silence. They were too hungry and exhausted to make much noise. Julia had regained consciousness and was given food immediately to build her strength up. Once she saw Raul wasn't there her panic rose slightly. No one could console her; after all, they weren't sure if any of their missing teammates were all right. None of them could even tell her it was better than where Brooklyn, Tala, and Kai had ended up because for all they knew, that's where Raul was. Mathilda tried to remain optimistic and told Julia that Raul was just fine.

"So, what's our plan now…?" Miguel asked as he ate.

"I don't know…but let's focus on recovering." Ray nodded.

The others agreed, but it was hard not to worry with each passing hour. Bryan watched the wreckage as he ate; knowing the picture of Tala's parents was out there somewhere. It was almost mocking him. He knew it was there, but he didn't know where or in what condition it'd be in.

"Would he even forgive me…?" Bryan mumbled to himself.

Ian looked at him "What's wrong?"

"You know Tala's picture is out there somewhere…he'll be mad if something happens to it."

"Picture? Oh, the framed one?" Claude asked.

"What's the deal with that picture anyway? Parents?" Kevin was lying on his stomach and propped his head on his hands.

"Yeah. They're his parents." Bryan nodded but didn't offer anymore information.

"So how come he carried it around with him? This was supposed to be a vacation trip in the beginning, why take the picture?" Tyson asked.

"He always takes it with him when we leave for a long period of time." Bryan explained.

"Huh…" Tyson blinked.

"Like a good luck charm?" Daichi asked.

Bryan didn't answer and gave them a hostile look.

"It's none of our business or anything." Tyson shook his head "But we'll help you look for it" he smiled.

"Huh…?"

"Sure, we can help look. If he brought it all this way with him it's really special to him, right?" Tyson asked with a friendly smile.

Ian was looking at them over his shoulder before glancing at Bryan.

Bryan was quiet for a while then nodded.

"All right, sweet!" Tyson cheered. "Hey, Daichi…think you can sniff it out?"

"Ha, ha…" Daichi laughed sarcastically.

The others had gotten a small laugh from Tyson's joke. It was nice that the mood had lightened even if it was just a little.

Bryan looked back out at the wreckage, choosing not to participate. He was too angry. This wasn't a joke, yet they were laughing? Out there somewhere, their teammates could be hurt, captured, or even dead. The silver-haired teen frowned at the fact the White Tiger's had found each other, and that the Barthez Battalion was only missing one member. Bryan had lost three teammates and two friends. Tala was in Boris' care and he didn't know where Spencer was.

Their unknown fate scared him. Tala was the first family he ever had. The Abbey was never his home…the Demolition Boys were, and then the Blitzkrieg Boys were his home and family. The fear of having it torn away from him was too much to bear. Ian felt the same way as Bryan. Both of them hoped they weren't the only ones left. The three strongest members of their team were gone. It hurt to think they could be taken down so easily.

* * *

><p>"Zeus?! Zeus!" Boris yelled into the headset, but nothing except static came through. The screens were dark. Boris had no idea what became of Zeus.<p>

"Ggggrrrr" He growled viciously as he considered what to do.

His plan was running so smoothly. It was going better than he ever expected. His eyes glanced to the top screen with Brooklyn making his way to the shore.

"I wonder if he'll get there before Spencer and the others." Boris spoke to himself.

"Uhm…sir…" One of the computer attendants said.

"What?!" Boris snapped, not appreciating being drawn out of his thoughts.

"Tala. He's out of the arena…" He clicked some buttons and brought up a visual of Tala walking slowly, like a zombie, through the hallways.

Frost immediately started to form on the lens of the camera and clouded its vision.

"Hm…maybe there's still time. Lead him to the gate." The purple hair man ordered.

"But sir, he'll-"

"Do it. Now. Let him out." Boris ordered.

"Y-yes sir…" He said and opened the gate nearest to Tala's location.

As he stumbled along he stopped and turned his attention to the draft he felt coming from the opening, and began heading towards it.

"What of Kai?" Boris asked.

"We don't know, sir. The cameras have shut off."

The man sighed and began heading towards the arena. He bit his lip as he thought about Zeus' strange disappearance. He became uneasy of who the intruder was and what they were capable of.

* * *

><p>Kai lay motionless in the debris where Tala had left him. Frost had gathered on his body and clothes as he opened his eyes slowly. He stared at the ceiling as his body succumbed to hypothermia.<p>

"So…cold…" he mumbled.

He didn't move any long, he couldn't, his body had broken down from Tala's attacks. Of course he always knew Tala was strong but he had underestimated what he was truly capable of. Like himself, Tala had also grown up in the Abbey and had become captain of the Demolition Boys. One had to be strong to get that position.

The Phoenix gritted his teeth as the lost played over and over in his head. Tala was no longer human. His eyes, his posture, the power…it was as if he became a demon.

"Kai." Voltaire's voice echoed throughout the arena.

Kai's body twitched at the sudden booming voice and weakly looked to the observer's room. His eyes were dull and glassy and he had a dazed look on his face.

"G-grandfather…?" He asked weakly.

"Why do you insist on being so disobedient?" Voltaire scolded.

Kai didn't say anything.

"I did warn you, that you would pay." Voltaire frowned. "For what you did at the world championships two years ago. I warned you and all of your friends would pay."

Kai was barely responsive. He moved his mouth to say something else but nothing came out. He was wondering what Voltaire meant, until he remembered back when Voltaire had wanted him to use Black Dranzer. So who was the head of this plan? Voltaire or Boris? Voltaire definitely had the money to fund all of this, while Boris knew of ways of pulling it off without getting caught. The two were masterminds behind it.

Kai struggled to say something again. Tala had already suspected Boris from the beginning, and if he wasn't captured and turned into that…thing, he might have succeeded in discovering Boris' plan and how to stop it before any others were taken.

_He came after me instead…why?_ Kai thought.

_It's not as if we're friends._

He kept trying to figure out why Tala jeopardized himself like that. Kai frowned and forced his body to sit up. The two-toned hair blader winced and breathed heavily as sitting up became a challenge. He had a goal he wanted to accomplish. He would fight his way through to achieve his goal like he always had in the past. Before he did anything else…he had to know.

"I'm…never…" Kai forced himself to stand up, using pure willpower.

Voltaire frowned down at him as his grandson continued to rebel.

"This is all…your doing….but; it's my fault I'm in this mess." Kai shakily looked up at him.

"I'm going to fix it, and show you never to mess with me, AGAIN." he threatened his grandfather.

Voltaire scoffed and hit a button on the control panel.

Kai shook as he stood.

"No matter how much you fight me Kai…you'll always come crawling back." Voltaire said bluntly.

Kai flinched. "No…never again."

Before Kai, a creature approached. It had a tall and towering figure. When it appeared, Kai was overcome with fear. Its appearance was horrifying, and it smelt like scorching bodies. This was Black Dranzer.

Its form didn't look human like the other bit-beasts; instead…Black Dranzer had a twisted form that seemed like a cross between a vampire and a zombie. His face looked sunken in, there was nothing but black for eyes, skin was a sickly green color with black veins showing through. The creature was truly not of this world.

Kai took a step back as his heart rate increased.

Its clothing looked as if it were torn away armor…leaving it jagged and showing bits of skin. Chains hung from his wrists, ankles, and neck as if he had once been restrained. The chains themselves were rusted and digging into his skin. Black feathers hung from his waist.

Kai swallowed the lump in his throat. This was Black Dranzer's form.

Voltaire had left as soon as Black Dranzer entered the arena. He knew that the dark Phoenix would not be satisfied until every person in that facility had been slaughtered. Voltaire had only wanted his grandson to feel horror, to have an experience so traumatizing he would never disobey again. With Black Dranzer, this was possible.

Quietly, Voltaire boarded a helicopter and left Boris to his fate at Black Dranzer's hands…as well.

Kai backed up. He knew he had to fight, but he knew he had no chance…not against Black Dranzer.

"I…have to fight" he decided and stopped. He glared directly at Black Dranzer, establishing that he would not run away.

Before Kai could do anything else, he was consumed by a black fire and Black Dranzer's spirit manifested out of the robotic body. The two-toned haired blader looked around frantically, not understand.

A dark winged figure made out of smoke appeared in front of Kai before dispersing all around him and infecting him. Kai yelled and fell to his knees as the power consumed him. Before long, the smoke had filled Kai's body completely and he passed out on the floor.

The robotic body was nothing more than a faceless mannequin as Zeus' was when he had left it. Black Dranzer didn't want a fake body. He wanted a real body.

Kai's skin had turned a sickly green color with black veins visible. The grey part of his hair had turned lighter, it was almost white now. He didn't open his eyes; he just laid there quietly as Black Dranzer nested inside him.

* * *

><p>Boris walked through the corridors, completely unaware of Voltaire's departure and what events took place inside the arena after Tala left.<p>

He was only concerned with who the intruder might be and what happened to Zeus. He figured he was defeated which made him uneasy. Who could have defeated him? As worry came over him he threw open a door.

"Artemis!" He called, sounding desperate.

She paused and looked over her shoulder.

"Something happened to Zeus!" He said.

"What?" she frowned and closed a file and laid it on the desk.

"What were you doing in here…?"

"Studying…anyway, what about Zeus? Something happened?"

"There's an intruder on the island…whatever he did, Zeus has not been answering over the headset. Something is wrong."

"An intruder…"Artemis frowned.

"I need you to locate him or her or them." Boris ordered.

The girl's frown didn't go away, but without saying anything she walked passed him and into the hallway.

"Understood." she nodded.

Boris watched her then looked curiously over at the file. As he approached and saw the label, it read "Tyson Granger"

"Hm…" Boris wondered why she was reading Tyson's file so early but figured she was just getting ahead of herself as always.

* * *

><p>Artemis walked down the hallway alone until she wondered if she should bring Shiva with her. After some pondering she decided that whoever was on the island couldn't stand up to the sisters. She nodded to herself and went to find Shiva.<p>

* * *

><p>Max winced and shook his head "Uhg…"he whined and held his head. When he looked around and saw such dark surroundings he frowned.<p>

"Hey!" He called and started to beat his fist on the bars "Hey! Somebody? Answer me! Come on, let me out!"

It was no use. His voice just echoed down the hall. Max sounded frustrated and looked around his cell. He saw a piece of orange and white clothing and walked over to it, picking it up carefully.

"Does this mean…Tala?!" Max sounded exasperated.

To think that Tala had been there comforted Max a little, but that was soon overshadowed with the question "where was he now?"

Max looked around and noticed some scuff marks on the lock.

"Tala must've tried breaking out…" he said and shook the bars slightly.

"Ah what am I thinking…if he couldn't break the lock I'm not going to open it by shaking it…" Max nodded and looked around for a brick or something Tala might have used.

_Maybe it's weaker. Maybe I can break it if I try hard enough. _

He thought and picked up a large brick near the corner on the cell. He struggled with it a bit but made it back to the lock and tried his best to hit it. Max wasn't very strong, but he hoped the lock was at least to the point where continuous pressure would make it give way.

* * *

><p>By the time Spencer and the others made it back to the shore; Brooklyn had already found Aaron, Hilary, Emily and Kenny.<p>

"No, don't fight him!" Garland called to Aaron.

"Emily, back off!" Michael ordered.

Aaron and Emily blinked and looked over at them.

Once Brooklyn saw Spencer and the others he glared and started to yell. The sudden outburst caused everyone to jump and Kenny to cower behind Hilary. Brooklyn put his hands over his hand.

"Don't look at me! Stay away!" He screamed.

"W-what is this?" Aaron asked.

Emily took a step back once she saw the dark aura surrounding him. She glanced at her laptop but remembered it was water logged. Kenny's computer was in no better condition, there was no way she could record Brooklyn and analyze the data.

Spencer frowned, he had hoped they wouldn't see Brooklyn in a while since their last meeting. He was afraid to launch his blade again. He remembered what happened to Michaels, Eddy's, and Garland's during their last battle, plus they still had Raul to worry about.

Brooklyn's dark power branched out again and as the sand below them turned rancid they scurried to get away from it.

"Now!" Emily ordered and launched her blade.

"No!" Michael shouted at her.

"We don't have a choice…" Garland readied his blade.

Spencer looked at them and frowned "No, we don't know what'll happen."

"Garland's right, we don't have any choice. We have to fight against this." Aaron nodded and launch.

Spencer couldn't reason with them. He set Raul with Hilary and Kenny while Kenny fearfully clung to her waist.

Eddy and Michael launched their blades and after some hesitation; Spencer did too.

Immediately after the launch Garland's, Eddy's, and Michael's blades slowed down and refused to take orders.

"Apollon! Attack!" Garland ordered, but the yellow beyblade did nothing. It was as if Apollon wasn't there. It was the same for Trypio and Trygle as well. The blacked-out bit had done more damage than they all thought.

"Trypio! What's wrong?!" Eddy yelled.

Seaborg charged ahead and smashed into Brooklyn's blade. Trygator and Rushing Boar joined in as they beat Brooklyn's blade back.

"Hehe….hehehe…"Brooklyn laughed before leering up at them.

"Everyone…let's…let's become one." He took a step forward. "Let's join…spirits…" he smiled.

Garland winced and bit his lip. Brooklyn launched another attack, this one was worse than the previous attack he used against Garland and Spencer before. This attack had also consumed Hilary, Kenny, and Raul, when in the previous battle Raul was unharmed.

"Let the darkness reign the earth! Let it all be swallowed up! Let it die! Kill all the evil spirits! Allow only the pure to live here! Aha! Hahaha!" He laughed, his voice cracking several times.

In the midst of all the chaos, Trypio, Trygle, and Apollon had began attacking Trygator, Seaborg, and Rushing Boar. Seaborg was able to fight against them, but the other two beyblades had been trapped by the darkness, just as Garland's and the others had previously. Spencer was the only one free to fight or retreat.

"I hate islands!" Kenny yelled.

"Chief, you're not helping!" Hilary screamed as she clutched onto Raul.

Spencer felt himself getting weaker as Brooklyn's attack remained unyielding.

"I…I can't give up!" He yelled as he was bombarded with attacks from multiple beyblades.

Trypio had appeared and attacked Seaborg, stunning him.

"No! Trypio attack Brooklyn! Not Seaborg!" Eddy ordered.

Apollon appeared next, but instead of appearing shrouded in light it manifested out of darkness and released a harsh flare upon Seaborg.

"Trygator!" Emily ordered him to help fight off Apollon and Trypio, but Trygle side-swiped her.

"Michael!" She snapped.

"That wasn't my fault! Trygle isn't listening to me!" He frowned.

"AHAHA YES! THAT'S IT! Cleanse the filthy spirits!" Brooklyn yelled as the dark poison started to ensnare Trygator and twist it's appearance just as Trygle, Apollon, and Trypio's appearance had been.

Aaron tried to focus and help, but it was no use, Rushing Boar had already been tainted.

Spencer fell to one knee as Seaborg was being overpowered. He heard his bit-beast cry out from the barrage.

"No…"Spencer gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand. His beyblade picked up momentum and began pushing the others back.

The blonde Blitzkrieg put his arms in front of him in a guard stance. He refused to give up, he wasn't going down that easily, he'd pass out before he backed down willingly. That was the Blitzkrieg way. Tala, Ian, Bryan, and Spencer had all agreed you never admit defeat. Even if your beyblade was smashed into tiny pieces, you were not defeated, you just retreat and regroup…defeat didn't exist to them. It was a made up word, it was nothing but gibberish to them.

"Seaborg!" Spencer yelled.

Finding new strength, Seaborg appeared and defended against the others. Spencer's eyes narrowed as he saw Brooklyn's beyblade pick up speed and charge towards Seaborg.

"Oh no!" Hilary screeched.

Before Brooklyn's beyblade connected something had blocked it. It looked as if a blur had done it.

"What was that?!" Brooklyn snapped.

A dark blue beyblade was circling Brooklyn's the way a shark circled it's prey.

Spencer saw the blade and recognized it as a certain girl's blade whom he had encountered before.

"That's…" he blinked.

The dark blue beyblade attacked suddenly, giving no warning, as the shark snuck up and consumed the beyblade.

"Ahhhg!" Brooklyn yelled and fell to his knees.

Garland flinched and took a step forward; wanting to run over to Brooklyn and help him, but decided against it. If he got anywhere near Brooklyn, who knew what would happen after that dark aura touched him.

The dark blue beyblade circled around and helped Seaborg fight the rogue bit-beasts back.

"Stramolyu!" Spencer shouted and allowed Seaborg to unleash it's ultimate attack.

"Killer Instincts!" A female's voice yelled as the dark blue beyblade mercilessly and powerfully knocked into the opposing beyblades.

They were all successfully fought back and stopped spinning. Spencer was out of breath and dropped to one knee from the workout. He stared at the blue beyblade before looking up at the trees, all around to see where it had come from.

"Ngggh…Gogh!" Brooklyn held his head in pain. "It…hurts…" he said before passing out.

Garland gulped and restrained himself from running over to him.

"Is…is it over…?" Emily asked.

Hilary and Kenny examined the blade, thinking it looked familiar.

"Hey chief…that blade…" Hilary started to say.

"Yeah I know…it looks like the one that belongs too-"

Someone dropped in from the sky. They were wearing a dark cloak and stood slowly, catching their beyblade.

"Ah! Don't do that!" Kenny yelled. "I think we've had enough surprises!" He was on the verge of tears.

Michael quirked a brow at her "Who the heck are you?" he asked.

"That's no way to thank someone" she said before removing her hood, revealing long blue haired pulled back into a ponytail.

"…Mariam…" Spencer said in awe.

She turned around and flashed him a smile "Hey there, Spence. Long time no see, huh?" she laughed.

"Mariam…? Hey! You're part of the Saint Shields!" Hilary yelled.

Mariam sighed and shook her head "Ok, let's try this again. 'Thanks for helping us Mariam.' 'No big deal.' " she shrugged.

Spencer glanced at Brooklyn before looking back at her. She walked up and handed him Seaborg back.

"We heard you guys have gone missing." she told him.

"Wait a minute…WHO are you?" Emily asked.

"Ooookay…" Mariam sighed. "Jeez, I'm Mariam, I'm part of the Saint Shields. We all on the same page now? Good. You know, for people being rescued you sure act strangely about it."

"We didn't need your rescuing, _MARIAM!" _Michael snapped.

Spencer stood up. "You heard we were all missing?"

"Whoa, it's not like we came looking for you guys, but Ozuma had a bad feeling about it. There's been some strange activity on this island. With all the teams disappearing and then with the suspicious things going on here he sent Joseph and I here to check it out." She explained before looking back at Brooklyn.

"And boy is it strange" she nodded.

"Strage activity? This island then-"

"Yep. It belongs to the Saint Shields…well, it actually belongs to Dr. Zagart, though it's not as though he uses it anymore…it's been abandoned for quite some time now. All the activity made us uneasy."

"So in other words…" Garland started to say.

"They stole it…" Eddy finished his sentence.

"Borrow." Mariam corrected them.

"Then, Mariam you know a way off this island?" Spencer asked.

"Of coarse I do. Sorry, I can't take any of you with me, let alone get all of you off this island."

"So what do you plan to do anyway?" Hilary asked desperately.

Mariam shrugged "Well, I have to report back to Ozuma on what I found out. Though, some additional information would be nice."

"Boris is behind all of this…" Spencer told her.

"Ah, that nut job?" She asked.

Spencer quickly exchanged with her what he knew. She listened and could fill in some pieces by herself. After learning about the dark power Brooklyn had and that Tala and Kai had been kidnapped as well, she only nodded.

"Don't worry about a thing, guys. You're in good hands" She smiled and put her hood back on and began walking away.

"Hey! You're walking away, just like that?" Garland called after her.

"I can't help you if I stay here can I?" she looked back at them "Just hold out for a while, we'll come back to get you!" She called.

"Oh, and Spencer! I'll tell the team you said 'Hi'" She smiled before disappearing.

They stood there at a loss for words. Perhaps they would be saved after all. All of them had the hope that Mr. Dickenson would come for them in the morning, but Mariam didn't mention a search part, just that everyone knew they were missing. Maybe Mr. Dickenson wouldn't come for them, but even so, that was fine. Mariam would surely help.

"What do we do now…?" Aaron asked.

"I guess…just wait." Emily nodded.

"I meant with him." Aaron pointed over to Brooklyn.

Spencer and Garland turned their attention over to him. The dark power had died down a little. Now they wondered if they should stay there or leave. If Brooklyn woke up, they'd all be in danger again, but they couldn't just leave him there either.

"We'll keep our eye on him. If he wakes up and it's like before, we don't waste time." Spencer said.

"We run." Garland said bluntly. "We run fast."

The other's didn't protest. The next question was, why did their bit-beasts attack a friend? And above all else, why were the bits black and Spencer's the only one unharmed.

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><p><strong>Oh boy, we're getting closer and closer to the end of the story. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter :) Expect to see more battles in the next one! <strong>

**REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	17. Advent

**:D**

**So, as promised another update for October. If you guys are wondering, I have midterms for college, my grandma will be having surgery, and I have work so I'll be really busy for a little while. I will try to stick to the one update per month but who knows, when I have some free time I'll write away :)**

**Thank you for all of you who leave reviews. It really means a lot to me that you guys take the time to comment :)**

**ANONYMOUS REVIEWS WELCOME!**

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><p>Brooklyn laid on the ground motionless as the other's sat a good distance away from him. The black smoke was seeping from his body but his face was expressionless. It was almost refreshing not to see the twisted grin on his face. Garland couldn't take his eyes off him for many reasons. The first one being that if Brooklyn woke up someone had to tell the others to run. The second being that he felt as though he failed Brooklyn once again; again he had left Brooklyn alone with his demons.<p>

"This is so weird…" Eddy said as he looked at Trypio.

The others had their beyblades out as well and were looking them over. The black bit haunted them.

"Why didn't the same thing happen to Spencer's?" Hilary asked.

Spencer didn't say anything and continued to stare down at his beyblade. When Brooklyn's dark power consumed them, Seaborg was the only one who didn't fall to it.

"Actually, I may have an explanation for that." Kenny started to say.

"What's that Chief?" Emily asked.

"Seaborg is the oldest living bit-beast. We may not know what's going on, but it's possible that Seaborg does and knows how to counter it. Maybe he's already encountered something like this in the past." Kenny said.

The others gasped slightly. They had forgotten Spencer held the oldest bit-beast in the world. It would explain why the bit hadn't been blocked out, Seaborg knew how to fight against the dark power and that's why he could hold his own against so many bit-beasts attacking him.

"If only we could ask Seaborg." Aaron said.

"Yeah, right." Michael sighed.

"Spencer, when did you get Seaborg? Boris gave him to you, didn't he?" Garland asked.

"Yeah." Spencer said bluntly.

"We met Boris and Spencer in Russia during the World Championships two years ago, back then they were the Demolition Boys." Kenny explained.

"Only back then Boris had BIOVOLT instead of BEGA." Spencer looked at Garland.

Garland didn't say anything and bit his lip. "You should know that wasn't my fault." Garland defended himself.

"BIOVOLT was essentially the same as BEGA, but the only difference being is you never had the Abbey."

"The Abbey…?"

"You thought you know Boris? You think you know him now? None of you have a clue. All you can do is sit here and whine 'Boris is such a bad guy; he tried to take over the world.' 'Boris is such a bad guy; he stole our bit-beasts' 'Boris is such a bad guy; he tried to control beyblading' but none of you have even the slightest idea of what he's really done." Spencer said bluntly with a stern face.

The others were taken back for a moment at the usually calm and quiet beybladers outburst. Spencer pointed to Brooklyn.

"You think that's bad? THAT is nothing compared to what he could be doing. Boris is a madman with no regard for human life or well-being, let alone the bit-beasts well-being. He still has Tala and Kai and who knows who else he might have. You really think we can stand up against those two if they become the same as Brooklyn?"

"Big deal, Spencer. We fought against Brooklyn and we made it out just fine. Kai lost to Brooklyn before and Tala's good and all, but it doesn't matter since any one of us can beat him." Michael shrugged.

Emily nodded "Yeah, they can be defeated like anyone else."

Spencer frowned at them.

"Hold on Emily. I wouldn't sell Tala short of skills just yet…let's not forget what happened during the Russian Championships." Kenny said.

Eddy stopped for a moment and thought about it. Tala had defeated him in no time flat. He nodded and looked at Kenny "That was a long time ago. We've all gotten better since then."

"Yeah, well I still think if it came down to it we could at least handle Tala. Kai may be more of a challenge though, but he's not indestructible." Michael looked at Eddy.

Garland remembered when he first fought Spencer, Bryan, and Tala. He had won so easily and began thinking maybe Kenny gave the Blitzkrieg Boys a little more credit than they deserved.

"No offense or anything, but don't act like those two are going to be some huge threat." Michael shrugged.

"You're the one who shouldn't underestimate Tala." Spencer said bluntly.

"Whatevs."

Hilary looked back and fourth between all of them. She didn't know much about the Russian Championships except from what Kenny and Tyson told her. According to them, the Blitzkrieg Boys were powerful and Tala had one the respect of Tyson from being one of the toughest opponents he's ever faced.

"I…I don't think we should underestimate them, especially with what happened to all of your bit-beasts." Hilary said.

"She's right…" Garland nodded. "We're all getting too cocky because of what just happened, but really, who knows what might have happened if Mariam and Spencer hadn't helped."

"We'd be fine. It's not as if this is the first time Brooklyn has done something like this." Michael said.

Spencer watched Michael and Garland bicker back and fourth. Inside he felt that if only they had seen the part of Tala, Bryan, and Ian he had then maybe Michael wouldn't be so arrogant. It was true that ever since they left the Abbey they hadn't been fighting to the best of their abilities. He thought that maybe after the Abbey's experience a part of their fighting spirit had shattered. Spencer frowned. He knew that when they faced Tala and Kai, it would be worse than Brooklyn. The memories he had of Tala, the true Tala, frightened him even to that very day.

All the boys grew up close to each other, and he never forgot about Tala's bloodlust.

Raul winced and slowly opened his eyes.

Hilary smiled "Hey, Raul's awake!" she told the others.

"Julia…where's Julia?" He sat up suddenly.

"Take it easy, pal." Garland said and pushed his shoulder lightly.

"Where's my sister?" he asked again.

They were quiet. They didn't know where she was or if she was even all right. When the lighthouse crumbled they were all scattered in the ocean. They had no idea if Julia was nearby or somewhere else.

Spencer decided to change the subject and asked, "Do you remember anything?"

Raul looked at him and nodded, "Y-yeah…sort of. I remember…the lighthouse and it…this…shadow."

"I think it's safe to say the shadow we saw was from Brooklyn, not from Zeus." Claude said.

Garland nodded and looked back at Brooklyn who was flinching in his sleep. It was nerve racking to have someone like Brooklyn near. At any moment, who knew what would happen, but they couldn't just leave him.

"I wish there was some way we could stop it." Garland said, "To counter act it."

Spencer didn't say anything, still feeling begrudged about what they implied about Tala and his team. Maybe they weren't worried about Tala becoming like Brooklyn, but he sure was.

"Mariam will help." Hilary tried to be positive.

"I hope she gets back soon…"Kenny whined.

"Huh…?" Raul blinked.

"Right, well kid; you missed A LOT." Michael said.

Raul didn't say anything but nodded. All he really wanted to do was be back with his sister.

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><p>The clang of Tala's steel toed boots echoed down the long stone corridor. His blue eyes glowed and contrasted his black scleras. On his forehead and over his eyes strange markings had appeared. It was as if these markings were a brand of some kind.<p>

A large booming sound caught his attention as he followed it. The sound led him to two double doors that were opened to the forest. He staggered towards the opening and gazed up at the night sky and the bright moon. Without hesitation he walked out of the base and into the forest, leaving a trail of frost behind him.

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><p>Artemis made her way to Shiva to ask for some assistance. Once Artemis walked into the room she noticed the climate change. It was freezing in the room where she was being held. Shiva stood near the back where a small dresser was; staring at something.<p>

Artemis couldn't help but smile as she walked up.

"Shiva?" she asked.

She didn't respond and just stood there. Curiously, Artemis peeked over her shoulder to see what she was staring out. It was a white beyblade that resembled Tala's original Wolborg beyblade. Artemis frowned when she saw this and placed her hand on Shiva's arm.

"You won't have to go back in there." Artemis said.

Shiva didn't respond and continued to stare at the beyblade. Artemis felt urgent. She had to carry out Boris' order as quickly as possible and standing there with "Shiva" was wasting time.

"I was looking for you for such a long time you know." Artemis said.

"I looked for you for so long until I got sealed…but here we are….reunited" she smiled.

There was no response from Shiva.

"You're my sister, Shiva. We're both of the moon." Artemis said, "That boy had you in that beyblade for so long, but it's ok. That boy…Tala…he'll get what he deserves."

At the mention of Tala's name, Shiva looked at her, then back at the blade.

"Tala…"She spoke in a cold tone.

Artemis nodded, "That's right. He had you in his beyblade, as a slave."

Shiva watched Artemis speak about Tala and how 'evil' he was, telling her they had to destroy him and the other beybladers too. She also spoke about Zeus and how he had mysteriously vanished. Shiva took the beyblade and followed Artemis.

Artemis seemed worried at the reason she took the beyblade, but then thought that it may have been the one she would use to battle with and let it go. She smiled a little, thinking Shiva had finally agreed to join them. Shiva walked gracefully and gripped the beyblade in her hand.

"Tala…" she whispered.

Artemis glanced back at her, frowning slightly.

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><p>A series of footsteps were heard down the hall as Ozuma and his team burst threw the doors. Mr. Dickenson blinked when he saw them.<p>

"What's this about? You can't just barge in here!" Robert snapped.

"We have information on your missing bladers." Ozuma said as he took his hood off.

"What?" Mr. Dickenson gasped.

"Where?" Judy ordered.

Grandpa looked at them then nodded "Hey I know you."

"They're being held on the island, ordinarily we'd handle this ourselves, but we need some help with this one." Ozuma looked at The Majestics.

"What can we do?" Oliver blinked.

Ozuma glanced at Joseph who took out his green beyblade.

"Because I just fought a bit-beast in a human body." Joseph said, "I sealed him in my bit for now, but if this is what we're dealing with we need all the beybladers we can get."

"A bit-beast with a body? But that's…that's impossible." Mr. Dickenson said in awe. Judy was also taken back by this news; after all, she had studied bit-beasts and beyblades for years.

"That's not all; somehow the bit-beast has taken over the blader." Mariam began and placed a hand on her hip.

"That's impossible." Johnny said.

"Come on, the more time we waste the less time they have! Just hurry up already!" Dunga snapped at them.

"Hold on just a minute…"Mr. Dickenson shot up from his seat.

Ozuma explained it to Mr. Dickenson as best he could. He told him about Boris, about Zeus, and about Brooklyn. A horrified look was on the old man's face as he listened. Ozuma explained that they would need some help to fight against the creatures Boris had created.

"There's going to be a fight. Tala and Kai were the other's that we know of who have been captured by Boris." Mariam said, "If they're the same as the Brooklyn guy then we need extra beybladers to fight against them. I barely defeated him if it hadn't been for Spencer, and that's saying a lot."

"All those poor kids must be dehydrated and starving…"Mr. Tate said.

"Exactly, they don't have enough energy to stand up to it by themselves." Ozuma nodded.

"Well dogs what are we waiting for?!" Grandpa shouted "Let's get Tyson and his homies out of there!"

Enrique and Oliver exchanged looks and nodded.

"What if they are like Brooklyn?" Johnny asked.

"Huh?" Dunga blinked.

"That's right…"Mariam nodded, "We thought of that too."

"You think we're going in there without a plan?" Joseph laughed.

"When Mariam and Spencer fought Brooklyn, she said the power possessing him hadn't gone away. With that in mind I already found some…"experts" on the issue." Ozuma explained and looked over his shoulder.

"It'd be our pleasure to help." a dark and sinister voice said as four figures appeared out of the shadows.

The Majestics' eyes widened.

"Dark…Bladers…" they all said at the same time.

Sanguinex smiled "We wouldn't let the Bladebreakers befall our same fate."

"If anyone can help Brooklyn, Kai, and Tala it's these guys." Joseph shrugged.

Mr. Dickenson looked nervous and sweaty "Oh my…" was all he could say.

The adults felt relieved now that they could locate the missing beybladers, but were now struck with more uneasiness at the mention of Boris, and of Brooklyn's fate.

"We can give you the coordinates to the island, but the Dark Bladers and The Majestics are coming with us." Ozuma said.

"No, I can't allow that…now that I know Tyson and his friends are in such danger-" Mr. Dickenson started to say.

"No hold on Stanley, we have ourselves a great army here." Romero smiled and touched his hand to his chin.

"If it's old Boris again, I doubt he'd expect such a Calvary and wouldn't be able to fight against it." he continued.

"He's right dog. With these peeps on our side it'll stick Boris right where the sun don't shine." Grandpa nodded.

Mr. Dickenson looked unsure before Ozuma spoke again.

"With respect sir, as people, as beybladers, we cannot allow this to continue." He said bluntly.

"They're right!" Johnny nodded.

"We can take out that old Boris easy!" Oliver agreed.

Mr. Dickenson was outvoted but in the end he had to smile. The spirit of beyblading burned inside all beybladers, not just Tyson and his friends.

"All right…but you'll all need to be extremely careful out there. I'd hate to lose anymore of you." Mr. Dickenson nodded before making the flight preparations.

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><p>The night seemed to go on forever as Bryan, Ian, Tyson, Ray and a few other able bodied were searching the remains for Tala's picture. Time had been completely lost to them. Who knew how long they had been on island now, how long their friends had been kidnapped, and how long they would continue to be on the island for. Unlike Spencer and his group, this group had no idea Mr. Dickenson hadn't received the e-mail and still believed he would be there by morning. They were lucky because of this false hope, which proved not to be so false after all.<p>

Mystel covered higher areas to check for the picture frame there, while the other's searched the ground. The night air was cold and was about to get colder…Tala was on his way towards them. Bryan stopped for a moment and looked ahead as if he sensed something. After a few seconds he sighed and went back to searching.

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><p>The Saint Shields, The Dark Bladers, and The Majestics would all join them to fight against Boris. Brooklyn, Tala, and Kai had already come face to face with their bit-beasts…now it was Max's turn.<p>

Max struck the lock again and again, leaving more marks than Tala had but doing little damage. He stopped when he heard a creaking of a door and dropped the brick.

"Let me out!" He demanded.

"Oh, don't worry Maxy…" Boris smiled.

"Grr…Boris! You'll pay for this! You won't get away with this!"

Boris laughed a little "I'm afraid I already have…" he motioned his hand and the guards opened the cell. Max attempted to push his way passed them but it was no use.

Max wasn't as strong or tall as Tala and Kai and wasn't as vicious in nature either. He could never hurt another human being willfully and his kicks and punches had little to no animosity in them.

"Let go!" He snapped, "I'm warning you!"

Boris smiled and watched with his hands behind his back as Max was being taken away to the arena. The one Tala and Kai had battled in was almost completely destroyed and Boris was hesitant to open it with Kai in it. Max was taken to another arena that was much smaller where he encountered Draciel.

Max was in awe at the appearance of his bit-beast. Draciel was covered from head to toe in shining armor. He resembled a western knight. A large shield as gigantic as he was attached to his right arm and a heavy gauntlet on his left bared the symbols of the sea.

The ground shook as the slow figure walked deeper into the arena. Max looked him over with a confused look before he realized this was Draciel's human form.

"D…Draciel…?" Max asked.

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><p>Boris walked back to his office in a joyous manner and opened the door.<p>

"Voltaire, the plans are-…Voltaire?" He asked and walked deeper into the room, frowning.

When the old man was nowhere to be found he ordered his servants to look for him and cough up any information they had. In the midst of the chaos Boris was called back to the computer room because of more 'camera failure'. The camera's that had failed this time were the ones watching the show where Spencer and his gang were. Previous footage had recorded a mysterious 'smudge' just as before.

"What…no! My plans will not be ruined again!" He snapped, "Where is Brooklyn!?"

"We're sorry sir; the footage cuts off before he arrives…" One of the computer techs explained.

"No…No!" Boris snarled.

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><p><strong>All right, so It's not terribly long but it's still something :D<strong>

**Oh man, getting closer to end ;_;**

**I hope you guys are loving it so far :D**

**REVIEW!**


	18. Frozen Heart

**So I just realized I haven't uploaded for the month of November yet. Well, here you guys go I hope you enjoy this one. To be honest...I'm tired as all hell lol. I just got home from working Black Friday...midnight to 4:30 am and figured...hey...why not...I'll write a chapter for you guys. I'm working two jobs and am in college and tuition is coming up...tired doesn't seem to quite fit. Anyway, I am deprived of sleep for 24 hours, I hope there's not too many mistakes.**

**Also, Blini are Russian pancakes :)**

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><p>Each step Tala took the plant life around him would wilt and become in-cased in ice. The grass turned brown, the trees were bare, the flowers shriveled, all had a layer of frost over them. His body wandered slowly through the forest, but his mind was lost in darkness. He was lost in his own soul, trying to find a way out. His body continued to move closer to the scene of the lighthouse.<p>

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><p><em>Tala wandered through the dark. The last thing he remembered was standing face to face with a woman in white before feeling cold. It went from cold to freezing, and then suddenly he was in darkness. He didn't know what his body was doing, he didn't know he had fought Kai a second time, everything that had happened since his fight with "Shiva" was absent from his memory. <em>

_Now he was left alone, completely isolated from the outside world. A frown crossed his face. This was reminiscent of his coma. Only he could hear Mr. Dickenson and Tyson back then. He wasn't completely isolated like he was at this very moment. _

"_What the heck's going on…?" Tala frowned as he looked around, trying to see something, trying to see anything. A small flicker of light appeared in front of him. He didn't know if it was small or just far away. The wolf didn't care, once he saw it he ran at it. He couldn't feel wind on his face as he ran; it was as if he were in a dream. It didn't even seem like his legs were moving. Tala knew he had to be moving because the light was getting bigger-closer to him. _

_He hoped this would be the way out. The red-head extended his hand to the light and it consumed him. He fell out of darkness and landed on a hard surface. _

"_Uhg!" He grunted and opened his eyes. _

_He saw a faint trail of light across the floor as he pulled himself up. He rubbed his cheekbone that hit the floor and sighed in frustration. Tala stood up and looked around to see where he was. He was taken back for a moment when he noticed he was in his bedroom. His hand fell to his side. _

"_What…?" He looked around. It looked exactly like his old room when he lived with his parents. Tala bit his lip and ran to the window, opening the curtains. Light poured into his room from the sunrise. His eyes widened. The bright pink, purple and blue reflected off the snow and were a beautiful sight. Tala stood in awe for a moment as he processed where he was. He finally figured it out. _

_He did a 180 degree turn and ran to his door and opened it. He immediately bumped into someone and stumbled backwards. A heavy hand grabbed his shoulder and stabled him. _

"_Whoa, slow down. You're that hungry?" a deep voice said. _

_Tala looked up and was confused at who he saw. A tall, well built man, with dark hair and eyes from the photograph looked down at him. He felt a little light-headed when he met eyes with the man. The look on the man's face was stern yet kind at the same time. _

"_Are you all right? You look pale…" he said. _

"_D-dad…" Tala managed to whisper._

"_Mhm…? Really, are you feeling all right?" He asked with his hand still on Tala's shoulder. _

_Tala didn't answer. He stepped back a little but his father's hand stayed put. There was no doubt about it. He felt the hand on his shoulder. For so long he was wandering in the dark and felt nothing…he couldn't explain what was happening. A dream…it had to be a dream. He hadn't seen his father in years. _

"_Tala." his voice said again as he leaned forward to look into his eyes. _

_Tala blinked and leaned back a little, frowning. _

"_Hmm…you look fine…" his father moved his hand to Tala's forehead, "No fever…well, then what's wrong with you? Speak up!"_

"_U-uhm…I…I had a bad dream…?" Tala managed to say._

_The man laughed. "A bad dream he says. You look worried, son…come on; have some breakfast. You'll feel better" he motioned for Tala to follow. _

_Tala couldn't process any of it right away. His father was here…but where was here? He looked down at himself and saw he was wearing pajamas. He also noticed his wounds were all gone, but seemed tired like he had really just woken up. _

_Absent mindedly he followed the man but really didn't need to. He knew the layout of this house by heart. It was where he lived when he was with his parents a long time ago. Tala was still trying to process what was going on. When he walked into the kitchen he saw his mother with her back turned to him at the stove. She was humming a cheering tune as she cooked. It was the woman from the picture with her long wavy red hair pulled back into a loose ponytail._

"_Morning Sasha." Tala's father smiled. _

_Natasha looked over her shoulder at them with a warm smile. The one Tala remembered from childhood. _

"_Good Morning Dimitri. Good Morning Tala." she said with a smile._

_Tala tensed a little and swallowed hard. This wasn't real, it couldn't be. Tala told himself this over and over again. His mother left a long time ago, there's no way she could really be standing in front of him right now. _

_Dimitri sat down with a smile on his face as Natasha handed him a plate of Blini and a cup of black coffee. Tala stood in the doorway with a troubled frown as he watched. _

_Natasha looked at him and tilted her head, "What's the matter? Come sit down, dear." she pulled a chair out._

"_Sasha really, stop babying the boy. He's a man; he's perfectly capable of pulling a chair out for himself." Dimitri told her._

"_Old habits die hard…" She laughed a little and set a plate down for Tala before she went to clean up the stove. _

_Tala bit his lip and walked over silently, sitting down at the table. He could smell the food as if it really existed. He picked up the fork cautiously and looked at the food. He jumped slightly when his mother put a cup of tea next to his plate. She smiled at him before taking her seat next to his father. She had the same icy blue eyes as Tala._

_His eyes switched between the two of them before he cut a piece of Blini off and ate it. It tasted delicious. The flavors were so vivid. If this were just a dream there's no way it could taste like that. After the first bite his stomach growled, wanting more. He cut off another piece and ate that too._

"_Told you food would help." Dimitri smiled, "Especially Sasha's food."_

_Tala didn't say anything and ate quietly. Everything felt so real that he began to consider it as reality. His mother leaving, the Abbey, Boris, The Blitzkrieg Boys…all of that began to fade from his mind as if that was the dream. The rest of the morning continued on. The time on the island was distant and completely absent from his memory once his food and tea were finished. As if this was his normal life, he went upstairs and got dressed, getting ready for school. _

"_Want me to drive you?" His father offered._

"_No, thanks. I can walk from here." Tala said and walked out the door._

"_Have a wonderful day!" His mother called from the kitchen window._

_Tala didn't turn around but lifted his arm and waved to let her know he heard her. She smiled as she watched him walk away and reached to close the window but hesitated for a moment, her face becoming solemn._

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><p>Bryan and the others continued to look through the wreckage for any sign of Tala's picture. For the most part things had calmed down a bit. Julia's color returned and she could sit up by herself now. Mathilda sat still with her ankle broken and if she needed to get around she would need someone to carry her. There was no way she could walk by herself or even get around.<p>

The air had seemed to get colder as they huddled around the fire.

"What's with the temperature?" Ming-Ming shivered.

"Good question…"Tyson breathed; "Huh?" he noticed his breath was visible in the air.

The others did too. The temperature had dropped severely to the point their breath was warmer than the outside air. The fire they had built began to crackle and flicker as it dropped.

Ian and Bryan looked unaffected by the cold. Being born in Russia they were use to such climates, and their clothes offered extra protection. They did look a little worried at the sudden change of temperature and exchanged looks.

"This is strange…why is it so cold?" Mariah asked and hugged herself.

Bryan frowned and clenched his hands into fists. They were on a tropical island, it had been warm even during the night, but now it seemed like it could start snowing at any moment. There was no natural explanation for this.

Ian was thinking the same thing. It wasn't a coincidence. In the back of his mind he was thinking it was Tala, but that was only because he connected snow with Tala for years. The group didn't know anything about what had happened to Brooklyn, so they didn't know that it was in fact Tala emitting such cold air.

"Man, I've had it with all these surprises," Rick snapped.

"Chill out, we're all sick of this" Lee told him.

"We just have to hold out until morning…Mr. Dickenson will be here, so both of you stop your whining!" Daichi snapped.

Tyson looked at the sky and all around. He couldn't see any clouds in the night sky. It was crystal clear with lots of stars shining down on them, and a big bright moon.

"Talk about weird…" he mumbled.

"What's that?" Miguel frowned

"What's what?" Mathilda asked

"Sh" Miguel frowned and listened.

Everyone went quiet so they could hear whatever it was Miguel was hearing. It was absolutely silent. The crickets, the animals, absolutely everything was still. Bryan scowled and looked at Ian who seemed worried.

"What is that?" Ming-Ming looked up at Crusher.

"Sounds like…ice" he nodded.

"It's like when I drop ice cubes in my soda" Daichi said.

"Ice cubes in soda…?" Julia said

"Yeah, when it cracks."

They listened again and heard the familiar sound everyone hears in their lifetime, but never gives much thought to it. It was the sound of ice cracking. The familiar sound of a high-pitched squeak followed by crackling. Their confusion and anxiety rose as the sound became louder, closer, until it was visible. From the forest appeared a trail of ice that blistered the trees. As the ice neared them, they all stepped back in shock and horror.

"What…" Bryan frowned

Ian didn't say anything, just stood there with his mouth open.

A figure appeared from the light fog that had gathered.

"T-tala…?" Bryan was in awe, not recognizing the form that stood before him.

Ian's eyes widened "What's wrong with him…? Bryan!"

Tala stood before them. His glowing blue eyes locked onto them. None of their faces registered in his mind. Tala's consciousness was locked deep inside a dream and no longer controlling his body. The only thoughts he had now were: attack.

"What happened to him?" Kevin asked.

Before anyone could answer his question; Tala leaped towards them, launching a beyblade. The white beyblade landed with ease but a giant black of eyes appeared. Everyone scurried away from it as the ground around it became frosted over.

Miguel had Mathilda on his back and carried her over to an area she'd be safe at.

"What's going on….?" She asked him with teary eyes.

"I don't know…something bad." he shook his head.

Bryan and Ian had scurried behind a boulder for protection. At the time it was the only thing they could think of. Where his beyblade landed a large block of spiked ice appeared. Tala staggered over to it and looked around with his glowing eyes.

"Boris must have had him part of some…experiment." Ian frowned.

"Yeah…I know…"

"What do we do?"

"I don't know…" Bryan frowned as he watched.

Tyson and the others watched Tala with mortified faces. The champion felt he had to do something, that he had to save Tala some how. Daichi didn't know what to think, it was too much to process. Ray was frowning and biting his lip.

"At least…we found him." Gary said.

"More like he found us." Lee frowned.

"Well we gotta do something about him." Rick snapped and got his beyblade ready "And I know how."

"Really…" Tyson furrowed his eyebrows.

* * *

><p><em>Tala walked the snowy roads of his old town. His memories were still fading from his mind. The more time had passed the less real they felt. His blue eyes looked over the old buildings and the stores, then a feeling of nostalgia overcame him. Everything felt so familiar, as if he was returning to it. The faint memory of the island lingered in his mind.<em>

"_Did that really happen…?" he asked himself. He didn't know the answer. _

_His mother had left some time ago, and his father had become an abusive drunk after losing his job, leaving Tala to fend for himself on the streets…that was reality…wasn't it? The man who had come to wake Tala up was the proud and kind man he once knew as his father, and his mother was in the kitchen with her cheery smile. It was the warm and loving family he use to have. No, not use to…he still had it, he just had breakfast with them. But if they were his real family then why did he have these kinds of memories? _

_He frowned, "Nothing aged…" he looked at the buildings. If this was the real world, then the town would have aged with him. _

_Things change all the time…years go by and things change….everything here is the exact same….__He thought with a frown._

_Finally he neared school and walked to his homeroom class. He opened the doors and saw a familiar face._

"_Bryan." he smiled._

_The silver-haired teen sat over by the window and stared out at the snow. Tala walked over to him and was surprised by his friends appearance. Bryan didn't look well. He seemed sickly with dark circles under his eyes. _

"_Hey, Bryan. Morning" he said but got greeted with a glare. _

"_Yeah…hi…" he said and looked back out the window._

_Tala looked puzzled and watched him for a while. _

_Bryan stayed quiet for a little while before glaring at him again "What do you want? Quit staring at me it's creepy!"_

_Tala frowned, "Hey what's your problem?"_

"_You're my problem. Leave me alone, would you? I'm not interested in talking to you." Bryan said bluntly before turning away from Tala. _

_The red-head was shocked at such an outburst. _

"…_Bryan…"_

"_I said to leave me alone."_

"_Fine then, be a jerk." Tala walked away._

"_Oh, I'M the jerk?!" Bryan snapped. _

"_Deaf?" Tala frowned. _

"_Why you…" Bryan stood up in a threatening way. The door opened and the teacher walked in to start the lesson. When she saw Tala and Bryan she frowned._

"_Boys, will I have to keep you after school again?" She asked. _

"_Hmph…" Bryan sat back down, glaring at Tala who returned an icy glare. _

"_Good. Tala, take your seat." The teacher ordered._

_The redhead stared at the silver-haired teen for a few more seconds before sitting in his seat. The teacher gave both of them warning looks before she started the lesson. Tala felt even more confused now. A crumbled up piece of paper landed on his desk. He looked around to see where it came from and saw Spencer sitting a few seats ahead. _

_Spencer made eye contact with him before turning to the front of the classroom. Tala eyed him suspiciously before opening the crumbled piece of paper and reading it. It read: __Bryan's never been your biggest fan. Quit the friendly act._

_Tala frowned and semi-glared at Spencer before turning to his notebook and writing a message. A few moments later a folded piece of paper was handed to Spencer who opened the note and read it. _

_What friendly act? Bryan and I are best friends. _

_Spencer quirked a brow before writing a message back. _

_In what universe? Whenever I see you the two of you always end up in fist fights._

_Tala frowned._

_I've never fought with Bryan._

…_Are you being serious or are you trying to play some trick?_

_I'm serious…_

_I have no idea what you're talking about._

_Are we friends…? __Tala wrote._

…_Sort of. _

_Sort of?_

_We've hung out a few times, never outside of school though._

_Why?_

_Spencer didn't reply to Tala's message and just looked over his shoulder at him. Tala had a deep frown mixed with a worried look. Spencer just shook his head and turned back to the board. _

_Tala bit his lip and looked over at Bryan before his eyes drifted to his notebook. A look of concern crossed his face. Bryan and Spencer weren't his friends? That was nothing but a dream too?_

* * *

><p>Rick launched his beyblade at Tala, who dodged it and launched an attack of his own.<p>

"I'll put you in your place!" Rick snapped.

"What are you doing Rick? Stop it!" Ray called to him.

"No use Ray, right now fighting seems like the only plan." Lee sighed.

"We can't! We can't hurt him!" Tyson objected.

"Oh, I guarantee he'll be hurt!" Rick said.

Tala lost his balance for a moment but caught himself, then charged at Rick. A powerful ice blast was shot out of his beyblade and Rick put his arms up in defense against the blizzard.

"That all you got? This is nothing!"

Ian and Bryan had made it safely to the group and Bryan frowned, "Rick! What are you doing!"

"What's it look like?! Drop rock attack!"

Rick's beyblade formed it's rock coating and charged at Tala's blade. Tala's blade dodged it and countered it with another ice blast. Rick was consumed in the flurry and knocked back. A destroyed beyblade landed next to him.

"Rick!" Miguel yelled and the able body group ran to his side.

Rick was on the ground hugging himself and shivering uncontrollably.

"Rick! Oh my gosh…are you all right?" Tyson asked.

Rick didn't respond. His shivering was on the edge of convulsions.

Bryan frowned and looked at Tala who, without warning, attacked again. The chill wrapped around the bladers as ice started to form on their clothes and skin. The last thing they saw was a bright light and they felt the cold sting of Tala's ice over their body before they lost consciousness.

Tala stood in the frozen wasteland of the wreckage. Dark clouds formed in the sky and snow was gently falling. His glowing blue eyes looked over the seen of beybladers who were being covered in soft snow before turning his back on them and leaving.

Ian struggled to get up, but he felt so heavy, as if pounds of rocks were hanging off him. His red eyes shakily looked up to watch his leader walk away. Bryan was shivering and fading in and out of consciousness. He tried his best to roll to his side but curled up in a ball to make himself warming.

His clothes couldn't protect against Tala's attack, he could feel the cold in his bones and his body ached from it.

* * *

><p>Spencer and the others saw the dark clouds forming in the distance.<p>

"That doesn't look good…" Hilary blinked.

"I've had it with surprises…" Michael sighed.

"Ditto…"Eddy nodded.

Garland frowned and looked at Brooklyn who had said a few words in his sleep.

Spencer felt uneasy when he looked at the black clouds and could do nothing except look to the sky

"Hurry up, Mariam."

* * *

><p>Boris was pleased as he witnessed Tala take out so many people at once.<p>

"Oh this is perfect! I never imagined he'd be so special!" He laughed maniacally.

"Sir, it seems Max has finished his battle. Should we let him out now?"

"No, let's let Maxy sit for a while…where is Kai?" he asked.

"Still in the arena" One of his goons replied.

"He still hasn't woke up? Oh well…all in good time. Where are Shiva and Artemis?"

"Scouting the island…,sir."

"Perfect…" a big grin crossed the purple-haired man's face as he witnessed his plan unraveling.

"No one can stop me…no one…" he said with euphoria.

* * *

><p><strong>I am so damn tired...<strong>

**REVIEW!**


	19. Lost

**Have you all been waiting? :D Well here you are. Another chapter. I hope you all enjoy this greatly. This almost had ME in a fit of emotion XD I hope you all get the same thrill. Enjoy! And don't forget to review! You guys are all wonderful for sticking with me this long :D I will try not to dissapoint! :)**

**Review! Please!**

* * *

><p>The sound of several helicopter choppers pierced the silence of the air. They were flying over the ocean towards the island where Tyson and the others were being held. Ozuma and his team were gearing up, getting ready for a fight.<p>

Joseph was looking at the face of his beyblade, staring intently at the bit. Only Vanishing Moot's picture was visible, but he knew Zeus lingered inside.

"Hey, Ozuma. When are we going to get there? I'm kind of tense holding this thing, y'know?"

"Don't worry. We'll get rid of it soon." Ozuma assured him.

"I hope so; it's giving me the creeps!" Joseph nodded.

"We'll take care of it; like we always do." Mariam nodded, thinking back to Spencer and the amount of power Brooklyn had. Knowing Tala had been abducted too, she felt worried but confident Ozuma could handle it.

The Dark Bladers rode in a separate chopper with The Majestics. They explained how to handle the situation to them. The Majestics listened intently, making sure they knew how to counter properly.

* * *

><p>A light fog covered the ground as sparkling ice crystals floated in the air. Tala wandered aimlessly around the wreckage. The longer he stayed, the colder it became and the thicker the ice was. All the beyblades he had attacked were freezing to death. Some with wounds, all dehydrated, and sleep-deprived couldn't handle the freezing cold. Rick was still unconscious and would convulse every now and again.<p>

"This is so terrible…" Mariah watched Rick with tears in her eyes.

She liked Rick. During the last tournament the two of them had bonded and became friends.

Tyson bit his lip, getting angrier by the second. He hated this feeling of helplessness, the feeling of desolation; he couldn't help his friends. This thought pained him greatly. He knew he could fight Tala, but he didn't think he could win, not with Tala's attacks being what they were.

"What can I do to help my friends…?" He frowned, thinking of Tala and Kai.

Bryan had painfully pulled himself up as Ian stuck to his side, both worried about their leader, and to a lesser degree, everyone else.

"We have to stay out of his way." Ray said.

"Right, who knows how long we can do that…" Daichi muttered sarcastically.

Ray frowned, knowing Daichi was right. They could only hide for so long, but maybe they could hide long enough, they had to survive.

* * *

><p><em>Once school let out Tala grabbed his bag and slung the strap over his chest. He turned his head back at Bryan who stood up and walked out, not even bothering to push his chair in. Spencer walked passed him; quickly Tala called out to him, <em>

"_Mind if we walk together?"_

"_Not really." Spencer shrugged._

_Tala sighed feeling relieved and followed the tall blonde. Tala tried to make as much small talk as he possibly could, trying to figure the world out. Spencer was confused at Tala's behavior, as if he was different._

"_You sure are being social for some reason…." Spencer said._

"_I'm usually not?"_

"_Uh…not usually. You always seemed to be in your own little world, at least until today." _

"_Huh…?" Tala frowned._

"_Hm, you know…you were always…distant from other people. You'd never give any of us the light of day before. No offense but you were pretty stuck-up." Spencer explained. _

_Tala was still frowning as he listened. Tala knew he could get over-confident at times, and knew how cocky he could get when things were going the way he wanted them too, but he would never go as far as to say stuck-up. _

"_Stuck-up, huh?" _

"_Yeah…it's not like we haven't tried to make friends before. You never seemed interested, like friendship was below you or something…I think I asked this before but are you feeling all right? You're acting…out of the ordinary." _

"_I'm feeling fine!" Tala snapped, "If I'm acting out of the ordinary it's only because this place isn't ordinary!" He yelled and his voice echoed through the hall. Many of the other students stopped and looked at him in confusion. _

_Spencer too looked at him with a look of concern. "Right…"_

_Tala sighed in frustration "Sorry…" he said reluctantly; he didn't mean to let his temper slip. _

_Spencer didn't say anything and didn't know what to make of this new Tala who seemed lost and confused. They walked until they made it outside where Tala heard a familiar sound. He turned his head and saw a crowd of boys standing around a bey-dish. Two beyblades clashed together as they cheered. _

_His icy blue eyes widened. Beyblades! They did exist after all; it wasn't just part of his 'dream' that pushed him out of bed that morning. _

_Curiously he walked over to the dish. Spencer watched him and shrugged, deciding to follow. Once Tala made it to the dish he saw another face he knew. A purple beyblade circled around the dish skillfully and knocked the other one out. _

"_Hehehe…you lose, again!" Ian laughed as he caught the purple blade. _

"_Ian…" Tala said._

"_You know him?" Spencer asked. _

"_Hm? Oh, N-no…" he said, biting his lip. _

"_I see him here a lot with those bey-things. He's always challenging some kid after school; I guess his uncle is a coach or something." The blonde explained. _

_Tala glanced at him before he glanced back at the crowd. His uncle? Tala thought. _

"_Anyway, I always thought it was just a stupid game. I've never played, though it seems to be popular." Spencer shrugged._

_Tala's frowned deepened as he became pale. The Blitzkrieg Boys never existed?! Spencer didn't beyblade, did that mean Bryan didn't either, and what about himself? Did he beyblade? Ian still beybladed though and he had the purple blade Tala recognized as Wyborg. What interested him more than that was this 'uncle' Spencer had mentioned. _

_The kid Ian beat picked up his beyblade "One more time!"_

"_We could have a rematch 1,000 more times and you'd still lose!" Ian taunted and readied Wyborg. _

_Thoughts were racing through Tala's head as he tried to desperately piece it together. Bryan, Spencer, and Ian weren't his friends, he lived with his mom and dad, he didn't beyblade, and The Blitzkrieg Boys didn't exist…what about the tournaments? They never entered them? What about the world champion? As these thoughts raced through his mind he tightly gripped the strap around his chest. Then he gasped, what about Tyson?!_

"_Spencer, who's the world champion?" He asked suddenly and looked at Spencer. _

"_World champion? For what?"_

"_Beyblading."_

"_I didn't even know they had championships…hm…I didn't think you'd like beyblading." Spencer quirked an eyebrow at him._

_Before Tala had a chance to reply a black car pulled up to the curb. A tall man got out of the drivers seat and walked to the passenger's side, opening it. _

_Tala's complexion went pale as his eyes widened at the man, a look of disbelief on his face. _

"_Ian!" Boris called. _

_Ian looked over his shoulder "Aw man…hold on!" He said and turned back to the match, quickly knocking his opponent's blade out. Smiling in satisfaction he caught his beyblade and raced to the dark car. Tala watched the scene, feeling detached. Boris…Boris….Boris….Boris?! _

_Tala took a step back, feeling lightheaded. He wasn't on the island? No, no…the island never happened, The Blitzkrieg Boys weren't real, it was all a dream, just a dream. This was reality, wasn't it? _

"_Sorry uncle, he challenged me again. He never learns." Ian said as he hopped in the front seat._

"_You should know when to start a match; I don't like being kept waiting. I won't be so understanding next time." Boris warned him as he walked to the driver's side and drove off._

_The crowd dispersed as if nothing had happened, but Tala stayed, acting as if a violent murder had just taken place and the murderer took a woman hostage and raced off in a stolen car. A fire was burning in Tala's chest and he was overcome with the urge to yell at the top of his lungs._

* * *

><p>Deep in Boris' underground base hidden in the frozen arena, Kai opened his eyes, revealing nothing but black. His body rose unnaturally as he looked around the arena. His skin a sickly green color, with black veins visible underneath, and light grey hair that stuck out in every direction, Kai had morphed severely beyond anything human.<p>

He took a step forward as black flames surrounded him, burning the whole arena down. Just as Tala's was, Kai's mind was lost in the darkness, lost deep inside somewhere. Now, only Black Dranzer existed, feeding off Kai's anger, loneliness, and suffering. It was an eternal loop to keep Black Dranzer alive forever. In Kai's dream, he relived the pain of his father leaving, the pain of the Abbey, the pain of his grandfather's abuse and neglect, and the pain of never being world champion. In Kai's dream, even Kenny beat him. He was a laughing stock, a nobody who could never beat Tyson. As Black Dranzer forced Kai to live through this, he created an endless source of unhappiness.

Now in Kai's body, Black Dranzer moved forward, determined to finish his ambition. He could no longer be tamed, now that he had his own body.

To Boris, nothing was wrong. He had just given the strongest bit-beast on earth a body. He had completely gotten rid of the need for Black Dranzer to have a master. In his mind, Kai would be mindless like Tala and Brooklyn, but he was wrong. Black Dranzer was inside Kai, thinking, making decisions, he had no limitations anymore. He had claimed Kai's body as his own. Nothing would stop him now.

* * *

><p>Mr. Dickenson sat nervously in the helicopter with the Saint Shields, who kept convincing him to relax, that everything would turn out fine. Mr. Dickenson wasn't so sure. After listening to Miriam's story of what state Brooklyn was in, there was no way he could relax.<p>

"When we get to the island, you'll need to be extra vigilant." Sanguinex explained.

"Yeah, we got that." Johnny said, "Anything else?"

"What you'll be facing will be like something you've never encountered before. They will be different from even us."

"Different…?" Enrique asked.

"They are not one with their bit-beasts anymore." Lupinex said.

"Yes. These bladers are not conscious anymore; their bit-beasts power has taken over. In a way, they are the bit-beasts now." Sanquinex said.

"Whoa…" Oliver blinked.

"With our case it's different. We may not be human, but we're consciously here, our bit-beasts and ourselves are one." Cenotaph explained.

"We wanted power, we were corrupted with it, and we wanted vengeance. The anger twisted us beyond recognition, until our bit-beasts found us. Bit-beasts choose their masters, they bond with their masters as their master bonds with them and they become one." Sanguinex said.

Enrique frowned, biting his lip. He remembered when his bit-beast almost attacked him. Robert looked like he understood perfectly. He had seen it happen before. In Kai's match with Spencer, the joy and pride in Dranzer as Kai battled. He also knew from experience from his battle with Tyson, and of course from the Russian world championships. Blader and bit-beast fighting as one, that's how it should be.

"Our bit-beasts never took control of us in this way. It was merely our corrupted spirits that found each other." Zomb said.

"That is why we became monsters." Sanquinex said, "When our spirits and our bit-beasts linked. We become something other than human, from the bit-beasts mysterious powers."

"And what about the others?" Oliver asked.

"Right now, the bit-beasts are rejecting their masters. Something has caused an upset in the link. We need to reset it before it's too late." Lupinex said.

"The way we reset it, we must restore the link between master and beast." Cenotaph said.

"How do we do that?" Robert asked.

"Both the bit-beast and their master have become corrupted. There's something preventing their connection. This means one, or both, of them have become detached." Sanquinex nodded, "From what Mariam tells me, these bladers' true selves are hidden deep within their spirits, lost."

"It could be anything serving as the 'block' a painful memory maybe, or even regret, anger, a strong need for vengeance. There's darkness in their heart, it's this darkness that have caused both the beast and the blader to become detached from each other." Cenotaph said.

"And now that they're detached, the power is running rampant. The bit-beasts powers have infected their masters, there is nothing but darkness now, nothing but evil…in both of them." Sanguinex looked at them.

"So…how are we suppose to…uhm…remove this darkness?" Enrique asked.

"A bond that is even stronger than their corruption."

"A bond…?"

"Yes, if they are not too far gone, we just need to dig deep and bring them back to the surface."

"What if we can't?" Johnny asked.

The Dark Bladers went silent and exchanged looks. Their sudden silence was nerve racking.

"Then they will be lost forever." Zomb said suddenly.

"What we need to do is fight and subdue them." Robert said, "Isn't that right? Otherwise we would not need to come along. It's because there will be a fight."

"I thought that was obvious." Johnny said.

"They will not be able to be helped, unless we bring them to their lowest point." Sanguinex said.

"Defeat…" Oliver nodded.

"Yes." Cenotaph confirmed.

"We have to make sure it's not too late…if it is, then…they may be destroyed a long with their bit-beasts." Lupinex said.

The Majestics tensed up when they heard that. They were starting to worry more for the beybladers trapped on the island, and to some degree were relieved they weren't invited.

* * *

><p>"Draciel!" Max's voice rang out.<p>

The arena had been filling up with water and Max was trapped in the current. He desperately tired to grab onto the wall, but his hands just slid against the bricks.

"Draciel stop! What's wrong?" He yelled.

Draciel didn't respond and kept filling the arena up with water. Max didn't know what was going on, he only worried for himself and his friends.

The water continued filling up to the top, Max thought he would drown, but the water stopped and the current shifted. His blue eyes widened with awe as the current carried him over to the observer's box. Max blinked and looked down at Draciel who was in the middle of the waves.

Max smiled, "Don't scare me like that Draciel." he said and turned to the window struggling to open it. He grunted as he slid the window open and crawled into the observer's box, his wet clothes leaking water into the control panel.

He landed on the floor and shook his clothes out before turning to look out the window, smiling.

"Thanks, I'll come back to get you, ok?" Max said and walked out the automatic door.

Draciel didn't say anything and watched Max, then allowed the water to recede. Boris had seen all of it on the cameras. A scowl on his face he slammed his fist down,

"What is the meaning of this!?" he snapped, "Artemis, where are you now?!" he yelled into the microphone.

"We're on our way to the lighthouse." She responded.

"Change of plans, I need you to get as many as you possibly can!"

"What…?"

"The spirits! Take as many as you can, plans have changed, time for drastic measures. Fight them and take their bit-beasts! Go alone!" He snapped.

"Alone…?" she glanced at Shiva "What do we do with Shiva then?"

"Send her to the other side of the island, don't let her come into contact with Tala!"

"Hm…" she didn't question him, but figured something had happened with Black Dranzer or Draciel.

Without questioning she agreed and told Shiva where to go. She sent her to the other side of the island where Spencer and the others were located, then Artemis continued on with her mission.

* * *

><p>"<em>Tala?" Spencer asked, looking at him.<em>

_Tala didn't respond. Boris was there, and he didn't know why. Did the Abbey still exist? If it did then Ian wouldn't be attending school with them, all his schooling would take place in the Abbey. _

"_I…I think I'm just going to head home now…" He finally said._

_Spencer looked at him then nodded, "You look pale…are you sure you're all right?"_

"_Y-yeah…I'm fine. Just…fine…" He said and turned to walk away. He headed home, looking like a zombie. _

_The tall blonde watched him walk away, quirking an eyebrow. Tala's head was swimming, and felt as though he'd pass out. A feeling of dread covered his body. So much was wrong, so much. When he got home the house smelt clean, and he could hear his mother's voice humming a little tune in the kitchen. _

_For a moment he felt at ease. His mother was back, someone he had not seen in years, not since she left years ago. No, that wasn't right…she had always been here. He thought. _

"_Oh, I didn't hear you come in." She smiled and picked out of the doorway, "Welcome home."_

_Home…yes, he was home. _

"_We're going to have a guest for dinner." She said and turned the stove on. _

_Tala walked into the kitchen, feeling exhausted. "A guest…?"_

"_Yes…a friend of your father's, you could say." Natasha explained._

_The red head frowned slightly. The way he remembered it, his father was a soldier who lost his job. What on earth was his job now? He figured since in this world, things were very different, he didn't know what his job could have been. _

"_Okay…" he sighed. _

"_Do you have any homework? You should finish it before dinner." She said._

_Tala nodded and grabbed his bag, walking upstairs to his room. It all felt surreal. Tala was use to living with The Blitzkrieg Boys, was use to making his own meals, making his own food, just use to fending for himself for so long. Now it was different. He had his parents back. It was an odd feeling taking an order from his mother. It was strange to have her back. _

_He sat on his bed working on his homework. School was never something difficult for him, he excelled in almost every subject, math being his strongest. By the time he was done with his homework he changed out of his uniform into a simple black long sleeve shirt and some nice pants for the dinner. _

"_Tala?" His father called._

_He sighed and put his books in his bag and walked downstairs. _

"_Ah, there you are." he smiled._

_Tala didn't say anything and stood with his father. The doorbell rang and Natasha hurried to open it. When she did she smiled cheerfully._

"_Welcome to the Valkov estate." she smiled._

"_Thank you. I'm much obliged." _

_Natasha stood aside to let their guest in. Tala felt a knot in his stomach at who walked in, he felt a lump in his throat, and his whole body felt warm. _

_Boris walked through the door, and his mother politely took his jacket to hang it up. _

_This is the…this is who my father works with?! __He thought, breaking out in a cold sweat._

"_Welcome, sir. I'm glad you could make it." His father grinned._

_Tala felt his heartbeat speed up. __I'm sure as heck not!_

"_You seem to have quite a lovely little family." Boris looked at Natasha and Tala, "And a gorgeous wife."_

_Tala frowned, gritting his teeth. That was the last thing he wanted to hear from Boris. _

"_Thank you. This is my son." His father placed a heavy hand on Tala's shoulder. "Tala."_

"_Ah, yes. I believe I saw you in the school yard earlier today." Boris said and extended his hand out to Tala._

_Tala frowned and seemed hesitant, but his father gave him a stern look while his mother silently urged him. Biting the inside of his cheek he reached out and shook Boris' hand._

"_Nice to meet you…sir…" Tala managed to say genuinely. Inside he felt terrible. He felt disgusted, hurt, and as if he had just betrayed himself. _

"_I have heard a lot about you." Boris nodded, retracting his hand._

_Tala winced. __Aw…dad…please don't tell this maniac anything about me._

"_Well, shall we get started?" Natasha asked and led them all to the dining room._

_Tala sat there, suffering as he listened to Boris and his father talk as if they were good friends. The interactions with Boris and his mother made him even more uncomfortable. He could barely control himself. _

_Be strong Tala…Just endure it a little longer…__He thought to himself, wincing every now and then as he tried not to protest__._

"_So how is that coaching going?" Dimitri asked._

"_Oh, that. Ian insists he's ready for the world championships." Boris explained._

_Tala twitched. _

"_Do you think he is?"_

"_Of coarse, the child is strong after all."_

"_Enough to defeat the world champion?"_

"_In time…I'm sure he will be." Boris nodded._

_Tala frowned and looked up, "Who is the world champion?" He asked suddenly._

_The others seemed baffled at his silence the entire night, then he just blurted out a random question during dinner and while two men were talking. Dimitri frowned at him, as if he'd get a scolding later. _

"_Ah, interested in beyblading?" Boris seemed amused._

_Tala frowned "I just wanted to know who the champ was…." he tried to say as politely as possible. Expecting the answer to be Tyson, Boris smiled._

"_Kai Hiwatari." Boris explained._

_Tala looked surprised, "Kai…? Kai is…?" _

"_You look surprised, is Kai someone you know?" _

_Tala didn't respond. Why was Kai the world champion and not Tyson? What in the world had happened…He feel silent again and went back to eating. His parents gave him a look of concern, but attempted to brush off the tension by continuing to get along with Boris, much to Tala's dismay. _

_Tala ate with a permanent frown on his face, constructing a plan. He would find out if the Abbey still existed, he'd find out more about Kai. He tried to keep calm, but was anything but calm. He wanted to run outside, just run out into the snow and yell, maybe cause an avalanche from the mountains from being so loud. Maybe even yelling so loud to the point America could hear him. _

_The night continued on, and it was the longest, most unpleasant dinner of Tala's entire life._

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you all enjoyed this! I certainly hope you'll keep reading. Stay awesome guys, and really thanks to you all for your support.<strong>

**Don't forget to review :) pretty please?**


	20. Sinking

**UPDATE! Boy it's sure been a while...how ya been?**

**If you are all curious, thank you for humoring me. Well, usually I try to update every month...but with college I am really swamped. It's been a while, so I decided I would take today off from school work and add another chapter for you guys. I hope I have not disappointed all of you, but rest assured I am still alive and kicking. **

**ENJOY!**

* * *

><p><em>Boris had left the house finally. Tala stood in the vestibule of their house watching the door as his mother closed it behind Boris. A scowl was plastered on his face as the events played in his mind like a movie. Kai was world champion; Bryan, Spencer, Ian, and himself were never a team, and Boris had just had dinner with his family. That was another thing stinging Tala's heart. His family was here.<em>

_Tala's father looked at him sternly, "Never interrupt two men while they're talking. We raised you better than that."_

_The redhead frowned before giving his father an icy stare. He didn't know what was going on, where he was, or why it was happening…but he wanted answers._

_"I'm not feeling very well…I think I'll just go to bed." Tala nodded before turning his back to his parents and heading upstairs._

_Natasha watched him with a puzzled face, "He's been acting so strange today…"_

_"It's refreshing from his usual smart mouth…" Dimitri sighed._

_Tala headed walked into his room and closed the door behind him. His blue eyes inspected his room. It was neat and tidy. There was nothing on the floor, no stray clothes, and an orderly desk. He always kept his room clean due to his father's strict rules, but when he was working on beyblades his room was usually a mess before he finished his work._

_Beyblades…those didn't exist in his life now. Tala frowned as he decided his next move. Suddenly, it was as if a light went on above his head. The Abbey! The Abbey had to have answers. He needed to know if it was still there, he had to find out what had changed and then piece it together from there._

_The wolf waited until his parents has gone into their room and grabbed his jacket; ready to challenge the chill outside. He cautiously walked down the steps, making sure to take it slow to avoid creaking. Once his feet hit the first floor he exited through the front door._

_Quickly, he ran as fast as he could to the Abbey. It was a far run, but not out of Tala's ability. A huge building came into sight. His breath was visible from the cold air as he caught his breath. An ominous and cold feeling took him over as he watched the building with disgust. So many memories came flooding back to him._

_"I…I grew up here…not with my parents." Tala said to himself, reading the sign on the gate._

_Balkov Abbey._

_Already forming solid conclusions in his mind about what took place in the Abbey, he wanted to make absolutely sure. Scanning the front gate, he walked along it before climbing over it. Instantly he ducked behind a bush as a security light shined over him._

_High tech security…check. Tala thought._

_He rushed quickly from bush to bush; avoiding the lights and patrolling guards. It felt so familiar. He knew where everything was. It was Déjà vu as everything started to come back to him little by little. The confusion hadn't went away, as he was now struggling to figure out which life was his real life._

_"Bryan…" he whispered to himself, "I met Bryan on the streets…we lived in the same town, and Spencer and Ian…I met in the Abbey. Spencer and Ian never lived in our town…"_

_They all went to the same school in this world. He frowned deeply as he tried to sort it out._

_"What is this world…"_

_"Hey! What are you doing there?!"_

_The redhead jumped at the booming voice. A bright light blinded him as he tried to shield his eyes with his arm. Tala struggled to see but made out silhouettes running towards him. He growled in frustration and began running. Yells came from around the Abbey as more and more guards started chasing him, and before long a loud siren was wailing._

_Tala knew his way around the Abbey perfectly, but he didn't notice one small detail. The Abbey had always relied on it's high tech security system and never had guards patrolling the courtyards- since that would look suspicious for an Abbey._

_Stupid guards…Tala thought as he ran. Okay so the Abbey is still here…but I need to find out what goes on behind those doors…_

_His icy eyes shifted to the main building where Boris had held most of the experiments. A guard rushed at him from the front and blind sided Tala who could barely keep his balance. He skillfully dodged the guard who then collided the several others chasing him._

_Avoiding the search light, and being bought some time, Tala turned a corner sharply and hid in some bushes. It was a swift and sudden movement that left the guards dumbfounded. The wolf knew where the camera's were and knew the blind spots. He could easily escape the guards since he was experienced in outrunning pursuers from his homeless days._

_I was homeless…wasn't I…? Tala thought. I came here when I was a kid…right?_

_He heard the guards close to the bush; frantically tying to find him. He stayed crouched so he wouldn't be seen, and stayed still so he wouldn't be heard. The guards scanned the area and split up to try and find him. Once they had moved on, Tala carefully crawled out of the bush and made his way to the main building. Pulling the double doors open just enough for him to slip between them; he continued his journey into the dark and dingy Abbey._

_Memories flooded his mind. He could hear the sound of beyblades as he relived his life there. Tala felt a complex mix of emotions as he snuck down the hallway. In a strange way, he was happy to be back to such a familiar place…but those feelings were overrun by the anger, disgust, desperation, exhaustion, and worry the place had to offer. Day after day it was nothing but practice around the clock. He began to bite his lip nervously as he remembered more than he wanted too._

_Avoiding the guards, he peeked in the lab to confirm his suspicions. Just as I thought…Tala gazed at the bit-beasts being created. Traveling further in he saw the training room of all the beybladers being brainwashed. A sick feeling manifested in the pit of his stomach. Walking farther and farther he saw the dungeons where the failures were held before being kicked out._

_"I can't believe I forgot something like this…" Tala frowned, biting his lip until he tasted iron._

_Boris and the island…it really happened. The redhead stood in the hallway, delving into his memories as he recalled his real life. His happy home, the streets, Bryan, the Abbey, The Demolition Boys, Tyson, The Blitzkrieg Boys, BEGA, then the island…all flooded into his mind at once-one right after the other. A headache forms as he placed his hands over his head. He broke out into a cold sweat and fell to his knees, feeling as though his heart would leap out of his chest._

_He remembered fighting Artemis in the arena, he remembered being in darkness before waking up in bed, and the most important memory…fighting Wolborg._

_"This isn't my life…" He said frantically, "I…I have to get out of here…" Tala pulled himself to his feet and started to run. He understood now. All he needed was a strong enough memory to hold on to. Familiar words lingered in his mind. The words of the woman who spoke to him during his battle with Kai: Remember._

_"What did I forget…?" he asked himself._

_"Hey!" A voice shouted._

_One of the guards spotted Tala as he ran and his footsteps echoed in the halls. Tala paid them no mind and just ran. He knew the guards were chasing him again but he did not stop nor look back. He just ran, not trying to stay hidden anymore. He came to an intersecting hall and a guard tackled him to the floor._

_"Let go of me jerk!" Tala hissed._

_The others caught up and attempted to restrain him. Tala fought them, punching one in the mouth and kicking another in the stomach._

_"Stop it!" Boris snapped._

_Tala froze at the sound of the voice, turning his eyes to look at him. Boris stood there as condescending as he possibly could; with Ian at his side._

_"..I-Ian…" Tala gritted his teeth. The site of an old friend took the fight out of him…even in this fake world._

_"Sir…we apologize, but this boy was-" one guard started to say._

_"Release him." Boris ordered._

_"…Sir?"_

_"Release him. Now."_

_The guards exchanged looks before reluctantly letting Tala go. Tala jerked his arms away, glaring at Boris._

_"What are you doing here at this time of night? Do your parents know you're here?" Boris asked curiously._

_"What I'm doing here is none of your business!" Tala said maliciously._

_Ian looked surprised at the disrespect and looked up at Boris, whose expression had changed drastically._

_"You're trespassing. What you're doing here IS my business. I'll give you a second chance, boy. What are you doing here?" Boris demanded._

_Calm down…Tala, you need to calm down. He told himself. He had to play along for now._

_"…S-sorry…sir." Tala choked out. At a loss for words he tried to come up with an excuse. It was obvious he had broken in and was uninvited. He opened his mouth to say something but no words could form._

_Ian watched Tala before smirking and snickering at him. Realizing how screwed he was, Tala frowned in resentment._

_"Hm…I think I'll give your parents a call…" Boris said, "It's the least I can do given our relationship."_

_Don't act as if we're friends… Tala's eyes narrowed as he followed Boris. Ian looked amused at the whole thing; which just annoyed Tala further._

* * *

><p>Brooklyn shook as he opened his eyes slowly. The slits had disappeared but they were nothing but green voids now. He struggled to say something, but was far too weak.<p>

"Brooklyn!" Garland shouted.

"Be careful dude." Eddy said, watching Garland rush over to Brooklyn.

"…Gar…G..Ga" he attempted to say.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm here…" Garland kneeled next to him, "Sh…don't try to talk…"

Brooklyn looked up at him, smiling weakly before falling unconscious again.

"No! Brooklyn stay with me!" Garland yelled.

"That's a good sign…right?" Hilary asked in a shaky voice.

"Better than him attacking us…" Emily nodded.

"He's back." Garland looked at them "This is him, the real him…we're ok"

"For now…" Michael scoffed.

"And now…is over." a female voice said.

There was tenseness in the air as Shiva emerged from the forest. She had a beautiful, spirit-like form that shimmered in the moonlight. Garland felt she looked familiar and tilted his head, trying to place it.

Spencer recognized her, but looked in disbelief.

"No, not another one! Oh no!" Kenny wailed.

"Wolborg…" Spencer frowned.

Garland was shocked and glanced back at Spencer, then back at Shiva.

"Wolborg…? Tala's bit-beast? How…?" Michael blinked.

"I don't know, but let's stop asking dumb questions…" Garland grabbed Brooklyn and started to back away.

Shiva stepped forward and locked eyes with Spencer, "Have you seen him?" she asked.

"Seen…who?" Hilary asked.

"Tala. Where is Tala…?" Shiva asked again.

Spencer fell silent; frowning. Both Wolborg and Tala were captured by Boris…at least that's what Spencer thought. If Wolborg was here now, where was Tala? The beybladers didn't know what to tell her. They had been separated from the others and separated from Tala way before then.

The blonde Blitzkrieg gripped Seaborg in his hand nervously. Shiva's pale eyes scanned their faces before launching her beyblade. Garland tensed up and stood over Brooklyn's body protectively. Her eyes stayed locked on Spencer as she raised her hands to motion the other beybladers to stay where they were.

"Stay there." she ordered in a cold tone.

"Spencer…don't do it, man." Aaron said worriedly.

Shiva waited patiently for Spencer to launch Seaborg, who was already injured from the previous fight. He felt half inclined to do it, but remembering Brooklyn's insane strength he was hesitant to fight her. Seaborg's bit began to glow. Shiva glanced at the blue blade before looking at Spencer again.

"I need to ask him a question. If you can't tell me…Leviathan can."

"Leviathan…?" Spencer frowned.

"His true name, not his given name." Shiva explained, "You know him as Seaborg…the oldest bit-beast in the world. He knows many things other bit-beasts don't; but you've never asked him, have you?"

"This is…all so fascinating…" Emily said in awe.

"Yes, yes, it's amazing…can we go home." Kenny whimpered.

"To think if we could just harness this power, if we could make it where bit-beasts and bladers could communicate with each other in the physically world then imagine how that would improve play styles!"

Shiva looked at her for a moment, "I don't like you." she said bluntly.

"Wha!" Emily looked offended.

Garland shook his head "No, it's a terrible idea Emily. What about those who end up like Brooklyn? It's not worth it…some things just shouldn't be messed with. Many bladers have become very powerful realizing you don't need to physically communicate with a bit-beast…" he thought of Tyson.

Spencer frowned, growing tense with Garland's words. Of coarse the only reason Wolborg stood before them in a human-like body was because of Boris' doing. It was just like when he tried to connect Wolborg and Tala back at the Abbey. He had succeeded for a while, but when faced with Tyson and his bond with Dragoon the experiment was a failure. There was no way to scientifically form a bond between spirits; at least not for a long period of time.

"You know my form. You've all seen me before." Shiva said.

"That's right…during Tala's attack" Hilary nodded "That's probably why you looked so familiar…"

During Tala's Novae Rog attack there was always a woman who appeared before the wolf. At that time no one really paid any attention to the humanoid figure that appeared, but now it all seemed to make sense. The woman stood before them still waiting to speak with Leviathan.

"Earlier you said you couldn't find Tala, what about a man named Boris?" Spencer asked.

"Boris is back at his base…he's not my concern right now." Shiva shook her head, "I want to find Tala…"

Hilary blinked, looking like she was at a loss. The others didn't know what to say or do. It was a strange feeling to speak to a bit-beast. No one knew what to tell her. She only sighed and gazed off into the distance.

"I can no longer sense him…"

"Sense him?" Hilary asked.

"Yes…bit-beasts can always sense their masters, we always come when we're called…if we're able to" she looked at those who's bit-beasts were blacked out by Brooklyn's dark power.

"But I can't sense him anymore, and I can't hear him…Our connection has been severed somehow."

"Wait! Is that what happened to Brooklyn?" Garland asked.

Shiva nodded, "Boris has seemed to discover a way to free us completely, and use these bodies" she looked at her pale hand "But we aren't really free. We have merely switched prisons. I could not leave this body if I wished to."

"What does he want to do?" Spencer frowned, "Wolborg…you said your connection has been severed, what about Brooklyn? How did he get that way?"

Shiva was silent before glancing at the boy still suffering in darkness. She sighed and looked back at Spencer "Boris plans have remained the same, ever since I was first turned into a bit-beast. He has always willed to control everything, but now he's taking a different approach. There are still humans who believe we are nothing but slaves" she sighed, "If you want to know anything else, I suggest you ask Leviathan. The oldest bit-beast of them all should be able to tell you." she turned and began to walk away, starting her journey to find Tala.

"Wait!" Michael snapped.

But she didn't wait. She continued to walk, her long silver hair flowing behind her. Spencer was at a loss for words. He looked down at his damaged beyblade. The blonde felt it was strange that he never questioned Seaborg's existence before. It was almost as if it was a paradox. Spencer knew Seaborg was the oldest living bit-beast, and he also knew Boris had given him the whale bit-beast. Seaborg was suppose to be artificially created in Boris' lab, so how could he possibly be the oldest one alive? 'Seaborg' was created a couple of years ago, and Dragoon and the others had existed for much longer.

Spencer had never questioned it before. Boris had drawn spirits out of animals to create the mutated bit-beasts. Seaborg would have had to existed far before Dragoon's time. If he was a bit-beast to begin with, then he wouldn't have been made artificially, but if he were just a normal whale who had been living since ancient times...it still wouldn't have made him the oldest living bit-beast- just a very old whale who was not a bit-beast. In that case, he would not be the oldest bit-beast.

"Leviathan...?" Spencer whispered to himself.

"We should do something!" Hilary shouted, looking at Spencer, "That was Wolborg? She must know something else right?"

"She said she wanted to find Tala...but he was taken by Boris." Garland looked over at the wincing Brooklyn, kneeling beside him to check on his condition.

"She said she could no longer sense him..."Emily nodded, "Wait... could that have happened to our bit-beasts? Has our connection been severed?!"

"Wha...?" Aaron blinked, thinking back to the blacked out bits on their blades. They hadn't come when they were called. Brooklyn's dark power had to severed them somehow.

The feeling of uneasiness could not grow anymore. It was at it's peak. What could they even do with this new information? If Tala had ended up like Brooklyn, how could Wolborg or anyone else reach him. Brooklyn was still severed from the outside world and there was nothing they could do. Spencer felt uncertain. He didn't know what to do for Tala, or even what happened to his other teammates. Anger soon started to fester. He had been better off not knowing...better off being lost in darkness.

Thoughts swarmed his mind as they jumped from Seaborg's identity to a frightening image of his teammates ending up like Brooklyn. Another image came into his mind of Boris enslaving everybody while he ruled the bit-beasts freely. Not just Russia and Japan, but the entire world would be at his mercy. He grasped his beyblade in his hand. This was the longest night he ever had to endure, but for those already caught in Boris' web...it was even longer for them.

* * *

><p>Tala was still walking around the ice wasteland he had created. Bryan and Ian had directed the others to stay hidden and keep out of his path. Bryan was practically beside himself as he watched his leader and best friend wander around like some zombie who could charge at any second.<p>

The ice would not melt even though the night was warm. Tala's presence kept everything frozen over, creating a cold and unpleasant environment for those who were injured or hypothermic. Bryan chewed the inside of his cheek until he tasted iron, and knew he had bit through the skin. He had to figure something out before Tala did anymore harm to himself and the others. Bryan could see that half of Tala's posture was the result of pain. The burn marks from the fire were still present, along with the other injuries he had gained.

"He really looks sick..."Ray frowned.

"How can I help him..."Tyson spoke, reflecting the feelings Bryan felt.

Bryan frowned as he gritted his teeth. His heart had sped up. His hand grasped his chest as if it were trying to stop his pounding heart from leaping out. He had an idea. He would need to fight Tala, he would have to subdue him before it escalated.

He felt the danger, and everyone else felt it as well. Something was coming, something was getting closer to them. Mathilda wiped the tears from her eyes, wondering if she would die there. If Tala were to attack she wouldn't be able to run. Her ankle was broken, and how could she ask someone to risk their life for her.

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. A warm and comforting one. Her teary eyes looked to see who's hand it was, and met the kind smile of Miguel. Her heart hurt even more as she silently thought, Why do you look so sad...

"We can't stay here." Julia frowned; but if she ran, her wounds would reopen and she would bleed to death.

After silent worrying and gloom faces. Bryan went to the edge of the glacier and glanced back at them.

"You guys go."

"What are you talking about?" Daichi demanded.

"You go on. I'll keep him busy."

Ian gasped and looked up at Bryan. Worry on his face as he tried to talk him out of it. He didn't want to lose Bryan now too.

"Go. If I instigate a fight, all his attention will be turned on me. You all could easily slip away unnoticed."

"No, we're not letting you stay behind." Tyson frowned.

"Idiot. You all feel it too, right? Something is coming towards us. Something bad. If we stay here then we'll be in even more trouble. You have to escape."

"Escape? Where? How do we know something isn't in those woods waiting for us?" Claude asked.

"Whatever is in those woods won't be anything compared to what's going to be here."

They fell silent. If Bryan could buy enough time, then all of them could get to safety...if there was such a thing on the island. Tyson refused to do it. He didn't want anyone else to be hurt.

"I'm not asking you. I'm telling all of you, get out of here. Find the shore, the docks, or even the ashes where the hotel burned down...somewhere that isn't here. Go." He snapped.

Ian shook his head, the others were mixed. They did want to get to safety, but at the same time they didn't want anyone else to be lost.

"Ok, fine. You're letting Kai, Tala, and Brooklyn down by staying here. If we all stay here, then Boris will win. There's no way all of us can take Tala on. He wouldn't be attacking the beyblades, he'd be attacking us, he could make us freeze to death and we'd end up like Rick."

"Yeah, but...what about you...?" Tyson asked.

"I can hold him off for a while. You all better not let me down."Bryan said bluntly. He looked at Ian and nodded, signalling him to go on ahead with the others. After a while, Ian understood what Bryan was going to do.

"Wait, no you can't do that...if-"

"We'll be on fairground." Bryan was determined.

Ian was quiet. Shaking with uncertainty but finally nodded in agreement. He then helped persuade the others.

"Don't worry...Bryan can handle this." He said.

Bryan nodded. They couldn't spend anymore time debating the issue. Bryan insisted they leave and he stay behind as bait. They hesitantly agreed.

"Don't give me those looks...This isn't the first time I've had to deal with him..."The silver-haired teen ran out from the glacier.

The sudden footsteps caught Tala's attention as he focused on Bryan. The others waited before quietly slipping away from the scene. As Ian walked, he glanced over his shoulder at his two friends acting as enemies. Biting his lip and lowering his head; he continued to escape with the others.

* * *

><p><em>Boris had called Tala's parents and waited with him in his office. Tala held a mug of hot chocolate that Boris had given him, but he refused to drink it. His eyes locked on his enemy.<em>

_"Seems they didn't know you were here." Boris mused._

_Tala just shot him and icy stare._

_"They sounded quite angry, but I can't blame them. You're lucky I have a lot of patience with teenage boys. I understand you're just in that rebellious phase." He continued._

_"Tch." Tala frowned._

_"I explained there was no problem...but so we're clear, if you ever do this again you'll regret it." Boris' nice guy facade disappeared at last._

_"Why? You have something you're trying to hide?" Tala asked slyly._

_"You ARE trespassing. I could have you arrested..."_

_"So what's stopping you?" he asked in a challenging tone._

_"Hm..."Boris looked displeased, but then smirked. "No matter...I'll forgive it this time."_

_His red eyes glanced at the red head "You're not drinking?-"_

_"I'm not thirsty!"_

_The room fell awkwardly into silence. Tala's icy blue eyes did not leave Boris. A permanent glare directed at the man. Boris didn't say anything for a while._

_"It seems I have offended you in some way." The purple-haired man nodded._

_Tala felt his eye twitch in annoyance._

_In time his father showed up, looking apologetic and angry at the same time. Dimitry and Boris spoke as he apologized for Tala's behavior, Boris assured him there were no hard feelings and it didn't affect their business._

_Tala set the mug on the desk. Dad...don't apologize...Don't apologize to this man!_

_"Tala!" Dimitri's stern voice rang out._

_Tala looked at him with a puzzled expression. Without saying anything he followed Dimitri out to the car. The car ride was silent for the most part. Tala was staring out the window at the snow as it sparkled in the artificial lights._

_"What's wrong Tala?" Dimitri asked, "You were doing so well...what happened?"_

_Tala didn't answer._

_"You've been acting so strange lately..."_

_I'm not the one acting strange...he thought._

_"Maybe...it's too soon to be off the medication..." His father said lamently._

_Tala perked up, looking at Dimitri, "What?!"_

_"I would rather you stay off it...but if this keeps up then I'm sure you'll have to go back on it."_

_"What are you talking about?!" he demanded._

_Medication? What medication? Tala's face was a mix of shock and fear as he watched his father's reaction. Dimitri sighed as his eyes remained focused on the road._

_"You don't remember do you..."He said._

_Tala clenched his hands into fists "What are you talking about? I was never on any medication, a medication for what?!"_

_"I should have known something was wrong when I got you up for school that morning. Well, since we're up at this hour...you, me, and your mother will be having a long talk..."_

_Tala's eyes widened._

_Once they got home, Tala was pained to see the expression on his mother's face. She looked so worried and hugged him as he walked in the door._

_He blinked at her embrace, feeling a little flushed. It had been so long since he had felt his mother's arms wrap around him so tightly. It was so warm and inviting, it took him by surprise._

_"Natasha...we need to talk with him." Dimitri said._

_She clenched Tala harder, as if she was afraid he would disappear at any moment._

_"I know..."She finally released him._

_They sat down on the couch and looked at Tala, asking him to sit. Tala just looked upset._

_"What's going on?!"_

_They took a moment before explaining it._

_"The doctor's said it wouldn't be unusual for you to forget...but some time ago you were diagnosed with a mental illness. You kept mumbling on about things, strange things." Dimitri explained._

_Natasha put her hand over her mouth and looked away, hastily wiping tears from her face._

_"Things like, this wasn't your real life and you kept mumbling on about Boris and some Abbey."_

_Tala's eyes widened._

_"You had such stories. At first we just thought it was your imagination, but then you started getting violent. You picked fights in school with people, and...well you were becoming unhinged. You talked about Boris and taking over the world and tried numerous times to attack him. Just two years ago you kept talking about your loss to some boy, what was his name...Ty...Tyler."_

_"Tyson..." Tala mumbled absent-mindedly._

_"Yes...Tyson. That he took your title as world champion. You always seemed to imagine up friends and friendships. It was like you couldn't tell what was reality anymore. Such outrageous stories and claims... You spent some time in a mental hospital before you were released. The medication seemed to be working, and you were making such progress that the doctor's took you off it. I think it's time you go back on it, before things go back to how they were." He explained._

_Tala stood there with wide eyes. His face shocked and heart pounding. Spencer and Bryan weren't his friends in this world. Spencer told him they never spent time together outside of school, Bryan seemed to hate him for some reason, he wasn't a beyblader, Kai was champion, and Tyson never was. A bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. He didn't have any friends at school in this world. This was real? All of it?_

_"No..." Tala whispered, "NO! It's real. I know it was, I remember! You lost your job as a soldier...then...then..."he remembered. His father turned into a drunk. He remembered his mother crying, he remembered the violence, and he remembered when his mother walked out the door and he never saw her again._

_"No...I met Bryan on the streets. We grew up together...Boris found us. I was raised in the Abbey! I know I was. I had Wolborg-my bit-beast! My beyblade...I remember! Then the island! Boris brought us to an island and Brooklyn disappeared...I saw the lab, I felt the burns, the pain in my chest, I know I did! Kai wandered off and I followed him then we got into a fight. I-I don't remember what happened after that...I must have blacked out...then...then" His breathing became irregular. He couldn't stop himself from blurting all this out. He was in a state of panic and extreme stress._

_"I...I passed out...then woke up here..." He put his hands on his head "I woke up here..."_

_Dimitri got up and grabbed Tala by the shoulders "Tala, It's ok. Calm down. Just calm down." he said._

_Natasha sobbed before walking over to him, hugging him again "My poor baby..."she said._

_Tala backed away "This isn't real...it can't be. It's a lie...it's all a lie!" he yelled._

_This was Boris' doing. It had to be. The memories mixed in Tala's mind. It was true that he had trouble distinguishing this world from the other world, but it was a trick, that's what he told himself. Just because he was confused didn't mean they were right. He refused to believe it and continued backing up._

_"It's a lie..." he repeated, "It's a lie...It's a lie..."_

_Each sentence became more unstable than the previous one as Tala's anxiety grew. He felt something in his stomach wanting to come up. He slapped his hands over his mouth and fell to his knees, feeling as if he'd throw up._

_"Tala..." his father spoke softly and approached him._

_When he got too close, Tala jumped up "No! It's a lie!"He shouted at the top of his lungs, unable to think rationally anymore._

_"It's a lie..." he whined._

* * *

><p>I hope you all enjoyed this! And please review for me...I really like your feedback, I mean that. I appreciate all of you!<p> 


	21. The White Fang

**This has been one of my lengthiest upload times. I apologize for making you wait so long.**

**For those who wanted more Kai, he will be appearing in the next chapter more, perhaps the next few chapters since I have something in store for him. I appreciate each one of you sticking with me this long, and thank you for your feedback. I have tried to keep everyone in character, while trying to expand them as characters. I hope I have succeeded.**

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><p>The cold fog swirled as Bryan dodged Tala's attacks. The silver haired teen watched his leader's movements carefully. When he was in a safe enough position he launched his beyblade. Bryan gritted his teeth as he contemplated what to do. He had bladed by Tala's side for years. He understood his leader's style, his strength, and his speed. Tala possessed great strength, and once they were in the abbey Bryan had grown to fear that strength and ruthlessness. His green blade collided with the white blade, but was deflected quite easily.<p>

"No..."Bryan growled.

That wouldn't work. Tala used an endurance style...a drawn out battle would give him the advantage.

_I'll need to end this quick..._Bryan thought.

"Tala!" he shouted as he dodged another ice attack. Bryan stumbled when an ice spike formed underneath him and shot up from the ground. The falcon jumped to the side and rolled out of range of more spikes being launched at him. Scrambling to get up from the ground cold wind with hail attacked him.

It was a merciless attack, just one right after another, Bryan wasn't given enough time for a counter-attack.

_I can't win if I attack him head on..._

Once the wind cleared, Bryan felt as if his body was burning. He knew this feeling well, he had felt it many times while he lived on the street. That feeling of such extreme cold that it felt hot, it burned like fire over him. Wincing, he looked up to see another ice attack. He stumbled but dodged it.

He knew Tala would attack him, but he underestimated how merciless he would be about it. Bryan had hoped that his appearance would jog some memories loose, but it was to no avail. The animalistic Tala that stood before him was not Tala any more.

"Falborg! Attack!" Bryan whipped around, ordering a violent wind attack.

The green blade attacked attacked the white one again, as Tala went for a counter-attack he was sideswiped by something invisible. Tala growled as he was knocked off balance for a brief moment.

Bryan stopped, giving him some time to recover, before shaking his head. What was he thinking? He attacked the wolf again. The powerful gust knocked Tala to the ground as an irritated growl escaped him. He quickly hopped up and unleashed an ice attack on Bryan. An ice spike went flying at Bryan as he tried his best to dodge it-the spike collided with him and shattered.

His eyes widening as he felt something warm and wet drip from his painful wounds. Blood began to stain his shirt and jacket, little droplets hitting the ground. Another ice spike was heading his way, he dove for the ground, ducking under the spike.

The spike flew over him and shattered against a nearby rock. Staggering, he stood up and used a counter-attack. Bryan didn't want to hurt Tala, he didn't want to give him more wounds than he already had, but it was the only way to defend himself. The falcon had the upperhand, if Tala attacked, he could at least see it and be able to dodge. Tala, however, was already weakened from the fire and a previous battle and couldn't see Bryan's attacks.

Tala sent out a chilling air that surrounded them, the ice burned as it collided with Bryan's skin; but he was accustomed to such conditions. After growing up on the streets of Russia, he endured many blizzards without a proper home to shield him. The force the icy wind colliding with Bryan's attack created a whirlwind around them. The wind was indiscriminate...the same ice that the wolf had used against his teammate was caught within the whirlwind and now attacking him as well.

The two wind forces chased each other and acted as a double sword, attacking the opponent as well as their masters. They were locked within this swirling air, and could not escape until one of them had won the battle. Ice stalagmites poked from the ground and rushed towards Bryan. Tala had predicted that his opponent would just jumped the side of the ice wall. The wall had obstructed Bryan's view of Tala, to which the clever wolf used to his advantaged. The ice wall burst into thousands of tiny shards as the white beyblade crashed through it; shattering it like glass. Tala had followed and stood only a few feet in front of Bryan.

His green eyes widened at the smile twisted on Tala's face. He didn't even look human. In the cold blue eyes, there was the depth of nothingness within them. This was the beast that dwelled inside of his friend.

"T-Ta-"Bryan went to scream, but the tiny shards of the wall had begun to rain down upon both of them.

The shards sliced at their skin; leaving deep gashes with blood that got caught in the wind and turned into a frozen, red mist.

"Tala you have to stop!" Bryan yelled.

The wolf attacked again, his face still twisted with that same smile. Shivers ran through Bryan's body, but not from the cold temperature...it was of fear.

"You must stop this! You'll kill yourself!" Bryan yelled again, but his cry fell on deaf ears.

Tala had not stopped attacking him. The battle wore on as both Bryan and Tala took damage from their own attacks. The intense feeling of dread had not left the pit of the falcon's stomach; he felt no pleasure in attacking his friend, and constantly worried about Tala's vital state.

The green and white beyblade collided as a whirlwind of red ice swirled around them, engulfing them. Tala still had the twisted smile, until the whirlwind began to get smaller. It began closing in on them; acting as a snake that was strangling it's prey, the red walls grew closer and closer.

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><p><em>Tala sat in his room, the curtains drawn and the door closed. There, he sat in complete darkness and isolation; glaring at a pill bottle sitting on his desk. He was required to take two tablets three times daily, and he despised doing it. He grabbed the pill bottle with malice and threw it into his backpack as he headed out the door so he could attend school.<em>

_He ate breakfast silently at the breakfast table._

_"Sweety...I know it's not-I know this isn't what you prefer but maybe one day you can be rid of the pills for good." His mother tried to reassure him._

_Tala only sneered, putting his fork down and sitting in frustration._

_"Son, you have to pull through. It's just an obstacle, but you can overcome this." his father added._

_"I finished..."Tala said bluntly as he stood up and walked out the front door._

_"Wait you barely touched your food, you should eat a little more!" his mother called after him._

_"Let him go, he's just upset...he needs some time to figure things out..." his father said._

_Tala walked to school with a constant scowl plastered on his face. He gritted his teeth and kicked some snow into the air out of frustration. This wasn't his life, he was sure of it, there was no way this could be real. His footsteps came to a stop as he stood there. Others walking in the same direction passed him as if nothing was wrong. The redhead brought his hand up to his forehead and entangled his fingers through his hair. His eyes glared at the snow as he traced the thoughts in his mind._

_"It's too perfect..." he said to himself and looked up at the town. Everything was just as he remembered it from his childhood. If it were real, things would be different. No matter what, time always proved to be a cruel test. Even if most things had stayed the same...something would be different. There had to be some indication that time had passed, but there was nothing._

_His hand fell back to his side as he began walking again. His eyes serious with focus and face laced with frustration, he finally reached the gates of his school. It had been a few days since he had broken into the Abbey and encountered Boris; but he couldn't help but notice the stares and snickering behind his back._

_His schoolmates knew what had happened. He heaved a heavy sigh after realizing his school life would now be a difficult one. Tala could care less what people thought about him breaking into Ian's uncle's place, he could just lie about what really happened._

_He dropped his bag at his desk and yanked the chair from the desk with his foot and plopped down into the seat. He could go through the motions for now, he could make his parents and doctor believe he was taking the pills; it wasn't as if he would be drug tested. In the meantime, he would be trying to figure out what this place was and how to get out of it._

_The redheads blue eyes happened to catch Spencer staring at him, as soon as their eyes met the blonde quickly averted his eyes and turned around. A twinge of aggravation was felt in his chest, but he ignored it for now and took out his books._

_"Hey, I heard you went berserk and broke into Ian's place." a voice taunted him._

_Tala dropped his books on his desk and looked up to see none other than Bryan standing over him with a cocky smirk._

_"Is your life so boring you buy in to silly rumors?" Tala retorted._

_Bryan scoffed "I heard you went crazy or something, and to be honest something was always weird about you, so I wanted to see it for myself."_

_"Oh, so that's a yes." Tala returned to his books._

_Bryan went silent and then slammed his hand onto Tala's desk and leaned over him "I don't know what it is...but you really make my blood boil."_

_With a look of contempt he glanced at Bryan, "Then stay away from me."_

_"Tch..."Bryan sneered and stared at the floor "It's that attitude of yours...that arrogant, holier-than-thou attitude of yours..."he trailed off as the pill bottle in Tala's backpack caught his eye._

_"Oh, now what's this?" He smiled, snatching it from the bag._

_"Bryan-" Tala frowned and stood up quickly._

_Bryan looked amused and held the pill bottle away from him "Oh, what are these?"_

_"Gr..."_

_"Some sort of mood equalizer? So you are a nutcase after all."_

_The redhead glanced around the room to see the others staring at them; he frowned and looked back at Bryan "Knock it off..." he said in a calmer voice._

_The silver-haired teen only laughed and taunted Tala with the pill bottles "So a mood equalizer? What did that have to do with you breaking into Ian's place? I heard you got really pale after seeing his uncle the day before. He sleep with your mom or something?"_

_Hearing that Tala lost it. He approached Bryan with hostility, doubled up his fist and punched him hard in the jaw. Bryan was knocked back by the force and fell onto the floor, the pill bottle rolling a few feet away. The air in the classroom became tense as the other students watched._

_Tala stood over Bryan angrily and planted his boot in his stomach. Bryan coughed and grabbed onto Tala's ankle, attempting to push him away, but he couldn't muster up the strength._

_"Don't you ever talk about my mother being with...with that monster!"Tala snapped. Even though he was sure this world was fake, just the idea of his mother and Boris being together made him fly into a violent rage, which wasn't helping his situation._

_Tala lifted his foot up and slammed it down hard again, making Bryan gag as he turned his head to throw up. The redhead removed his foot and stood over him, staring down at him with contempt._

_"I tolerated you this long for no other reason than you resemble my best friend...but you're not Bryan, so I no longer have the patience to deal with you." Tala spat._

_The other students remained motionless, terrified of Tala's outburst. They had overheard Bryan talking about the mood equalizers and now feared to further anger him. Spencer himself looked shocked; he just stared at Tala as he watched him walk over and grab his pills, throwing them in his bag and sitting down as if nothing happened._

_Tala gritted his teeth and looked out the window...what had he done? He had been trying to fit in, not make things worse for himself._

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><p>Tala began to look panicked and had suddenly fell to the ground. The white beyblade began to be overpowered by the green one as the ice within the whirlwind weekend. The redhead fell to his knees, bowing his head and sitting motionless. Bryan frowned, not knowing what he should do. He thought he should attack again but thought that maybe he had already won. Tala was just sitting and no longer attacking. Foolishly letting his guard down; Bryan had stopped attacking and attempted to approach the redhead.<p>

His footsteps were almost drowned out by the whistle of the whirlwind. Bryan walked carefully across the ice until he was standing about four feet from his friend.

"Tala, are you-"

Tala shot up to his feet in a swift movement, making a gesture for an attack. The silver-haired blader flinched, not having enough time to dodge, ice shot up around him. Bryan became completely entombed in blood-colored ice. A smirk appeared on Tala's face, as he stared at the large ice tomb in front of him. The glow in his eyes reduced, and he seemed to be in pain. Where his power was coming from was unknown, but it was clear he was just running on fumes.

Bryan felt the cold encompass his body. His body was paralyzed and began feeling warm, almost burning. He was trapped in darkness as his mind wandered to the past. The cold streets of that old village where he met Tala. Their adventures before the Abbey, and his new found family who called themselves the Blitzkrieg Boys. Things had been tough since they were little, but they managed to get through it. Now they all balanced jobs, school, and their beyblading careers trying to make a living. They had only been on the island for...he couldn't even remember anymore. He was sure it had only been a few days, but he had no idea. It could have been weeks, but it felt like years.

He was stuck in the cold now, his mind drifting now; Tala had won this match and he couldn't move within the ice. Bryan's thoughts stung him. He had let his guard down, if it was any other opponent Bryan could slash them to bits...but it wasn't any other opponent. It was Tala, who did not hesitate in attacking.

He couldn't breath now. The silver-haired blader tried to desperately gasp for air, but there was no air to breathe-he couldn't even move. Bryan tried to let out a growl of frustration, but he made no noise. In a red flash, something swirled around the ice and had shattered it.

A sudden heat came over his body as he fell to the floor, where red water instead of ice laid. Blinking in confusion he looked up quickly to see Ozuma standing a few feet in front of him. His eyes shifted to Tala, who had been blown away by the fire. The whirlwind around them was still raging, and to Bryan's surprise his blade was still spinning.

"It's you, Ozuma..."Bryan frowned "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, that's no way to say 'thank you' to someone Bryan." Ozuma smirked, keeping his eyes locked on Tala.

The redhead was pulling himself off the ground very slowly and weakly. The blue iris' had disappeared, and now only the whites of his eyes were visible. A low, animalistic growl escaped his bared teeth. His white beyblade had started to wobble and slow in momentum, he was close to being finished. Tala was almost too weak to even stand.

"Probably because I don't want or need your help." Bryan snapped.

"Whatever. Looks like I'll need to put Tala in his place again."

The falcon's eyes narrowed "Watch it..." he growled.

Ozuma only smirked.

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><p><em>Tala had been sent to the principal's office where his parents were called. All he could do was sit with his arms crossed defiantly as he was questioned on what happened. Bryan had played the victim card and acted as if he had been randomly attacked...much to Tala's dismay, the rest of the class supported his statement.<em>

_"Please excuse him, he must not have taken his pills..." his father apologized._

"_It seems he's a danger to others..." the principal said, "I can't risk having him attack any other students." _

"_Tch. Attack..."Tala scoffed "As if..."_

_His father glared at him. It was such a hard look, but Tala was not phased by it. He was too fed up to care at the moment._

"_I have not called the police given the nature of the attack, but he must continue his medication if he is to come to school...otherwise..."_

"_Please, that won't be a problem. Will it Tala?" his father said in a warning tone._

_The redhead sat with the same defiant scowl. He took a minute to breath in and closed his eyes to relax himself, then he stood up "I'm not taking those damn pills! There's nothing wrong with me, something is wrong with all of you! Now, if any of you have some sort of plan to 'control' me, well, bring it!" he snapped and stormed out of the room. _

"_Tala!" his father called after him._

_Tala didn't respond and just ran. He couldn't go home, he had no friends, there was nothing he could do, no one to turn to._

_He ran the streets, the ones he had grew up on, the ones he met the real Bryan on. Tala didn't know what to do, his life in that world was ruined and it was too late to start playing by the rules. _

"_Ok...I have to figure this out. Calm down, Tala. Calm down" he told himself as he paced in the alley. "You know this isn't real...you know it...Kai's your partner. Bryan's your friend. Spencer's your friend. Ian is your friend. We're the Blitzkrieg Boys. We lived in the Abbey and learned to beyblade from Boris. I fought Tyson in the world championships...Yes, that's right..."_

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><p>As Ozuma went to attack the downed Tala, his beyblade got deflected by a shining light.<p>

"What..."he frowned.

"Who are you?" Artemis demanded as she jumped into the whirlwind from the top. She stood in front of Tala, frowning. Her eyes glanced between Bryan and Ozuma.

Her eyes narrowed "You...I...I know you."

"You're Artemis. You were a bit-beast that terrorized townspeople long ago when they stopped worshipping you as a God." Ozuma said.

"And then I was sealed away by your clan." Artemis glared with hatred, but then her expression changed as she began laughing.

"This is perfect!" she screamed.

Bryan pulled himself to his feet, "A two on two battle, Ozuma...?"

"If you can handle it. I doubt it, since you could barely handle him...though I can't take both of them at the same time. So, yeah...some help would be great."

Artemis smirked as she looked back at Tala "On your feet!" she snapped before glaring back at Ozuma. For a while, Artemis had began to doubt Boris' plan. She had began thinking of him as a liar, the one who sealed Shiva into the spirit known as Wolborg. It didn't matter now, though. Artemis wanted revenge...and having Ozuma come to the island and stand before her now, she would have her vengeance.

Shakily, Tala rose to his feet; staggering as he turned to face Ozuma and Bryan. His iris' had not returned, and he looked like he would collapse from sheer exhaustion. This was good. If they could remove Tala quickly, it would be two against one.

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><p>In the distance, Kai had woken up and floated to his feet amidst black flames. His skin was still a sickly color with black veins running throughout it. His eyes opened, but were pure black. Everything had decayed into charred remains from the black fire. Black Dranzer had taken over a human body, and was now awake. He took a step forward, slowly getting use to walking. Boris could not control Black Dranzer. He had neglected the robotic body and stolen Kai's.<p>

Now, he could do as he pleased...

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><p><strong>As always, I hope you enjoyed and I would appreciate a review please. I don't know when I'll be able to upload next, hopefully it won't be too long. I know the pain of waiting for an upload of something you like very much, so I will try not to keep you waiting. <strong>


	22. Misery

**Omg I updated. I am REALLY sorry about the wait guys. Long story short I had a lot of personal stuff going on, BUT I am back. I hope this chapter is to your liking. **

**It's been a while...I know. **

**I have lost some followers sadly and lost some favs. I don't know if its because they think the story is going downhill or because they thought I would never update again. **

**If there is something you think I need to work on, please tell me in a review. If you want some additional info read the below comments. **

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><p>Max ran through the halls of Boris' stronghold. His mind was racing about all that happened. Draciel now had a human-like appearance, and had helped him escape. It was difficult to explain. Max always felt a connection with his bit-beast. If he had to explain what that connection was to someone...perhaps he would have used the word friendship? One thing was for sure, Draciel wasn't some beast he would force into fights. They were a team, it was a sport, they gave it their all and they fought together.<p>

He was lost in thought and didn't even realize where he was running. Luckily he didn't run into any guards, but the ground shook and knocked him off his feet. Max's arms flailed out in front of him as he hit the stone tiles.

"Ooow…"he groaned as the floor continued shaking.

He gazed up and saw Kai walking towards him. His eyes widened in disbelief, and he smiled; but he soon realized something was wrong. Kai had a dark aura surrounding him, and black flames consumed the hall behind him. His black eyes were fixated ahead and as he neared Max; the blonde could see the sickly green color of his skin.

"K-Kai…?" he asked hesitantly.

Kai did not respond as he walked closer and closer to Max. The blonde's dark blue eyes watched with a sickened expression as he saw Kai with more clarity. It was difficult to explain but he had such a feeling of dread. It was as if something was in the air, and he felt an intense fear. Whatever was wrong with Kai was evil, and Max could sense it.

It wasn't just Kai's appearance, but there was something else adding to it. A definite chill...something physically there that haunted Max. Kai took one more step before Max panicked, hopping off the floor and fleeing like a scared animal.

He frantically ran as his heart felt it would rip out of his chest. Max then thought back to Tala's disappearance and the ripped clothing he had discovered in the cell. He also thought of Brooklyn.

_What could have happened to them…? Did they...did they become like Kai?!_ Max thought. He didn't know how far he ran, but he felt burning in his stomach burst into his throat.

He had no choice but to stop and throw up on the floor.

"Boris is...is a special kind of evil…" he wretched.

Max leaned against the wall; trying to calm his breathing but the nausea wouldn't leave. He continued to gag until he realized that the floor was moving. The hall felt as if it were moving in water.

"Draciel…?" Max looked around "No, he let me escape...I can't waste this chance...I'll find you outside Draciel!" he shouted and ran again. He needed to find an exit, he had to escape Kai...there was nothing he could do to help at the moment. Max would get out of Boris' stronghold first, then find a way to help Kai and the others.

"Sir, we have a problem!" one of the guards yelled at Boris.

"What is it?" Boris demanded.

"W-well… Black Dranzer did as we thought...but we never factored in that he would use Kai's body. Sir, he's destroying the base!"

"There's another problem to, sir. Draciel is still in the combat room, the room and surrounding areas have suffered considerate water damage...they're flooded!" another voice rang out.

Boris frowned "Where is Max now?"

"Heading towards the northern exit."

"Send a squad to stop him. I'll deal with Kai and Draciel." Boris growled.

He reached for his microphone and tried to make contact with Artemis, but he stopped as soon as he remembered. She had went to clean up the mess at the lighthouse. He then thought of Zeus, but he had gone missing some time ago. Boris had a knot in his stomach since he saw that smudge on the camera, but had given it no further thought.

The man also realized Voltaire had already left the base. His plan was falling apart once again. In an act of desperation he tried to make contact with Shiva. Unfortunately for him, there was static on the other end. Boris growled as the idea of failing once again ate at him.

He was once great, he had once commanded an army, he once held all of Russia at his fingertips. When he was discharged, and communism failed; he had met Voltaire and founded the Abbey. Boris had once held the world at his mercy with his beloved Demolition Boys. He gritted his teeth together and looked at the monitors. Max running down one hallway, Kai demolishing the next, Draciel flooding the chambers, and Tala and Brooklyn ravaging the island.

"Orders, sir!" one of the techs yelled.

Boris stayed silent, thinking carefully of his next move.

"We'll hold our positions...this may be a blessing in disguise." Boris spoke under his breath. "Open the gate nearest to Kai. He can end this for me…"

"Yes, sir."

Boris' eyes narrowed as he watched his plan slowly fall apart. He could only hope that Kai would tie up loose ends. His eyes switched back to Max, who was nearing the barricade waiting for him at the north gate. Deep down he knew, this plan would not work.

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><p>"<em>Tyson the three-time world champion has been defeated! Please put your hands together for Kai Hiwatari!" DJ yelled into his microphone. The crowd roared and cheered as the lights dimmed, and a bright spotlight shined down on Kai. <em>

_He smirked smugly as the crowd started to chant his name, but that didn't matter to him. He had beaten Tyson. Finally no one could call themselves better than him. Kai was the best beyblader around. No one could defeat him. Kai's eyes scanned over the crowd, but there was one face he didn't see who he had wished was there. In all honesty, he no longer cared. He was going to give up blading forever. Tyson was defeated, there was no longer reason to keep blading. Kai closed his eyes and turned his back on his ex-teammate, his scarf flowing behind him as he left the bright stadium lights and headed down the dark corridor. _

"_It was a good match." Kai said to himself; overwhelmed with satisfaction. _

_The face he had wished to see was his father who had left all those years ago. He had chose beyblading over his family- but in a way Kai could understand the love his father had for the sport. Kai had become the best, and inside he had wished that his father had been there to watch him. _

"_None of that matters…" Kai said to himself as he looked down at Dranzer. _

_He could retire with no regrets. _

_That was a lie. As Kai walked his memories slowly started to return. The island, Boris, everything started to come back to him. As he walked down the hallway he stopped suddenly as the thoughts flooded in his mind. His grandfather had been there, and so was Black Dranzer! _

_Kai frantically turned around to look at the light at the end of the hallway. The stadium, his team, Tyson, they were all that way. Kai realized he was just walking farther into the darkness. _

"_No...I didn't beat Tyson yet…"he frowned, "no...it was…"_

_The memory of fighting with Tala came to mind. He had won, but only barely. Tala proved to be much more of a challenge than he had thought. Tala also had given Tyson a difficult battle all those years ago as well. Kai stood in the hallway; gazing into the brightness of the stadium lights, and then he remembered. The bright light that had taken Brooklyn. No, he had not beaten Tyson. There was no chance to, no time. They were at the island and the championship hadn't taken place yet. _

_Kai glared into the light and then glanced back at the darkness, "Grandfather…" he spat the name as if it were venom. _

_With a new goal Kai headed towards the light, a frown on his face. He had too much to do. He had to defeat Tyson, he had to destroy Black Dranzer, and he had to teach his Grandfather a lesson. _

_As he approached the light a very familiar voice called out to him. His eyes widened once he heard her, and it stopped him in his tracks. The darkness was calling out to him; he understood what was happening, none of it was real...but even so the voice haunted him. _

_He heard his name being shouted out again. Kai wanted to continue walking but he felt compelled to turn around. His body broke out in a cold sweat as he turned around to face the voice. _

"_...Wyatt…"Kai said under his breath. _

_Standing at the other end of the hall was the young brunette from Kai's school. His face expression was solemn as he gazed at Kai. _

_A knot immediately formed in Kai's stomach. _

_The brunette stared at him while Kai stared back. _

"_This isn't real…" Kai frowned, but that didn't make it hurt any less._

_The memory of Wyatt's battle returned. His twisted smile, the insane laughter, Wyatt's mind had deteriorated right in front of Kai._

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><p>"Falborg!" Bryan yelled as his falcon swooped down to attack Tala.<p>

Before he could connect Artemis defended Tala's blade. The ice storm swirled around them and it soon became difficult to see again.

Both Ozuma and Bryan could see that Tala could no longer fight, all he could do was support Artemis in the fight. Unfortunately, that was just enough to match Ozuma and Bryan. They had to take out Tala as fast as possible, or else they too would be at Boris' mercy- or worse, they could lose Tala forever.

Artemis unleashed her light, which was the only visible thing within the snowstorm. It shined like a beacon, giving away her position, but the light flashed brightly and blinded them within a second. Most of their senses were cut off. Tala's ice froze their skin, the wind deafened them, the moisture cut off their sense of smell and the snow and light blinded them.

They were stuck in a middle of a horrible storm.

Ozuma growled, "Flash Leopard!" he yelled initiating an attack; but he was lost in the ice.

"Tala's stronger than the last time I ran into him…"Ozuma frowned.

"This power is unstable" Bryan shielded his eyes.

The two were hit with a powerful blast of snow and blinding light. The shockwave pushed them back their blades colliding with each other and they fell motionless in the snow.

Artemis laughed, feeling victorious.

"You are nothing but a shadow of your clan!" she laughed, "To think that I use to fear the Saint Shields! With this power, I am invincible!" She cackled, her laughs becoming rabid.

Tala stood there beside her, the cold air swarming around them, but his body was driven to a point of complete exhaustion. The abuse he had suffered over the few days on the island was enough to make anyone give out, but what he endured at the Abbey had prepared him. The redhead was in top physical condition, and with his newly acquired powers his body was being pushed to its limit. He winced as a pain struck his chest and shot through his body.

"Now where did those others get to…"Artemis smirked and looked at Tala "you ended up being more fun than I thought!" she laughed, her calm exterior cracking.

After she took out the rest on the island, she would take out Boris. She decided to hold the bit-beasts she captured as leverage. She would destroy Boris before he destroyed her.

Ozuma struggled in the snow as he sat up, "She's crazy if she thinks it'll be that easy…" he smirked.

Bryan brushed the snow off his shoulders and looked irritated. They both stood up and gazed at the swirling storm in front of them. Their blades had managed to stay spinning from the hit.

"How was she so strong before?" Bryan asked, remembering the beam of light he saw and how easily Brooklyn has been defeated.

"Like any bit-beast she's probably weak. I mean how long was she walking around here anyway." Ozuma shrugged. He was watching and it didn't appear that Artemis and Tala had noticed that they recovered.

"Bryan, I need you to counter this storm."

"Right….How the heck do you expect me to do that?"

"Have Falborg summon whatever power he can and disperse this storm. I'll use Flash Leopard to get a clear shot at Tala."

"No way. If anyone is going to take out Tala it's going to be me." Bryan frowned, "Besides with that strategy, Artemis can easily counter your attack."

"Unlikely." Ozuma scoffed.

"We'll do your plan, but I'm going for Tala." Bryan said bluntly.

"You better not mess it up, because I won't be able to cover your mista-"

"I won't!" Bryan growled.

"There's only going to be a small window for you to attack-"

"I know! Which is why you keep that girl busy."

"Have it your way then…"Ozuma sighed.

It would need to be done carefully, but Ozuma knew Bryan could dispel the wind at the very least. In that moment Ozuma would try to take out both Artemis and Tala. He wasn't going to let this fail because of Bryan's sense of pride.

Bryan took a deep breath "Let's do it…"

Artemis was in a flurry of mad laughter as Tala looked up, sensing something within the snowstorm. Bryan was summoning the wind needed which swiftly cut through the storm, creating an opening. The air the falcon had conjured created a counter to the icy wind. A rift appeared with a separate current to the rest of it and a different temperature. Artemis barely had any time to react to what had happened. Bryan successfully tore through the storm and initiated an attack.

Right behind him Ozuma was ready with Flash Leopard. He was going for Artemis once their was an opening, as soon as the storm parted the leopard jumped through it, heading straight for the girl. As soon as Artemis saw the fire, her laughter stopped and she choked on her breath. She realized what was happening now.

"NO!" she yelled and realised another attack, fast as the speed of light.

A beam of light shot up into the sky and illuminated the night sky.

* * *

><p>Ian stopped and looked back at it his face growing worried.<p>

"Bryan…" he muttered with disdain.

He didn't know what was happening up there, but his stomach turned as if it knew what it was. No, that wasn't quite right; he didn't need to know exactly what was happening, because he knew whatever it was-was bad.

"Ian! Hurry up!" a voice called to him.

He snapped out of his trance and followed the group of bladers. Everyone was shivering from the cold Tala had conjured up, and each and every one of them had forlorn faces. From where they stood the storm atop the rocks was visible; they had also seen the light.

"This isn't right! One of us should go help him!" Tyson snapped.

"I agree, but we have to keep moving." Ray said, "Tyson we all know how you feel; but there's nothing we can do...not in this shape."

Tyson frowned and kicked some dirt with his foot; mumbling something under his breath. Everyone felt so helpless. They couldn't do anything to help Bryan or the others who were separated from them. On top of that many of them were dehydrated and wounded.

"We just have to keep moving." Ray told Tyson again, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

The champion sighed in frustration, but he couldn't just leave Bryan there.

"Such fretful faces." A voice laughed.

Ian recognized the voice. Everyone's eyes guided to the tree branches.

"Who's there?!" Lee demanded.

"Whoa, whoa guys" Joseph jumped down from the tree, "I'm a friend"

"Wait a second...Joseph...I know you! You're with the Saint Shields!" Tyson pointed.

"Glad you remember us." Joseph smiled, "Don't worry about Bryan, Ozuma should be there right about now."

"Ozuma is here too?"

Joseph only smiled and took out his blade,

"Recognize this guy?" he asked curiously.

The picture on the bit was that of Zeus, Brooklyn's feared beast, that had been defeated by Joseph.

"Wait...how did…" Daichi blinked.

Joseph laughed and shrugged. He went on to explain what had happened. Gasps and sighs of relief were heard around the group, but also horrific stares appeared. Joseph explained that help was on the island, and he could take them there, but he had also explained about Zeus. Boris was somehow giving bit-beasts a human form, and possessing their former masters.

Everyone was relieved to learn helicopters were on the way for them, but it was a bittersweet feeling. No one was truly ready to believe it would be that simple. Boris was smart, and would not let them leave so easily.

"Wait, what about Kai and the others?!" Tyson demanded.

"We'll get them back too, however that may be a bit more challenging."

"What do you mean…?"Mathilda asked.

"We don't really know where they are. See, Boris is a wanted criminal but he's a smart one. He's evaded arrest for years. He was never able to get solid charges against him, none that the court will take seriously." Joseph explained.

"And trying to take over the world isn't a serious charge?!" Mariah snapped.

"Try telling the judge you tried to take over the world with spinning tops. While the sacred beasts are dangerous, there's many who only see them as toys or myths. Trying to take over the world with beyblades would be like trying to take over the world with any other sport like soccer or baseball." he shrugged "doesn't sound series, I mean it would if those mascots of the team were real beasts capable of damage, but I don't think any of you really believe in a giant tiger running down the streets and soccer balls flying every which way."

"But the mascots don't actually come to life!" Daichi argued.

"Some people say the same thing about bit-beasts. People don't actually believe they're real. We all know they are. We've used them, and even communicated with them. Other's haven't."

"That's true...remember when Hilary couldn't see them?"Ray looked at Tyson.

"Huh? Oh, yeah you're right." Tyson nodded "Now that I think about it, Zeo didn't know what they were either."

Joseph nodded "Exactly. Well they seem common now in the beyblading realm, outside this sport there's very little who know or believe they are real. Anyway, we're wasting time...follow me" Joseph started to walk off into the forest.

Ian stared after them but hurried to follow them. He was a little distrusting of the Saint Shields being on the island.

* * *

><p>"Flash Leopard!" Ozuma yelled.<p>

A roar pierced through the howling wind as the leopard appeared in a tempest of fire. It jumped at Artemis, catching her off guard.

Her eyes grew wide as she faced the leopard for a second time "No…" she breathed.

"I won't be defeated again!" she screamed.

She disappeared in a flash of light, the sky staying illuminated. Flash leopard missed and landed on the ground behind Artemis.

Tala had turned to face Flash Leopard to attack, but at that moment wind violently pushed against him.

"Falborg!" Bryan yelled.

Falborg acted quickly after slicing through the storm. The falcon appeared, its shadow visible on the ground as it hovered above. One valiant flap of its wings caused gale winds, blowing back Tala and the ice as it sliced him.

He yelled out in pain. The sound hurt Bryan's ears far more than the storm ever could. He winced but kept up the attack, not allowing Tala to fight back.

The redhead flew back, watching the sky, seeing it fade to black as he collided with the cold hard ground. His body sliding and flipping over himself before he laid motionless.

* * *

><p><em>He paced in the alley way, becoming more and more anxious.<em>

_"What do I do...I have to get out of here…" Tala said frantically._

_Without warning a sharp pain struck his head. He yelled and clutched his head, overcome with a painful, throbbing headache. Along with the pain came nausea and a high-pitched ring in his ears._

* * *

><p><em>He was back to being a child, and stood there with Bryan with his fathers watch. The two walked to pawn it together. From there, it switched to his family life. He felt the fists of his father strike him body, as well as kicks. He heard his mother crying and trying to pull him off, only to be slapped herself.<em>

_Tala's eyes had become blurred with tears. What had happened to his family? His loving father, his kind mother...reduced to such a life._

_It all faded out in a flash of light as a hand was extended to him. Boris' hand, his smile, his calm voice._

_"Come with me, and you will have food, a place to sleep, warmth, and shelter"_

_Tala foolishly followed the man, and Bryan followed him faithfully._

_"Tala...what are you looking at?" Bryan asked hesitantly._

_"The future…"Tala responded, staring out at the snow. The sounds of beyblades, the training that never ceased. One day they could stop fighting? Perhaps one day the fighting would end, the agony would finally come to an end._

* * *

><p>Again the scenery switched, and he was tumbling in darkness. He could not see anything, but he felt as if he were spinning. Soon his senses returned to him as the sense of spinning round and round slowly came to a stop.<p>

"Tala!" He heard a voice yell.

"Tala get up!" Another one called to him.

Tala winced as he opened his eyes, his vision blurring in and out before focusing on Bryan leaning over him. The falcon smiled in relief after seeing Tala aware of him.

"Stay alert, she's still near" Ozuma warned looking around them.

Bryan nodded before looking back at Tala.

"Can you hear me?"

Tala looked up at Bryan, his blue eyes lifeless and cold. He went to say something but couldn't muster the strength and fell unconscious.

"Tala!" Bryan yelled.

"He is suppressed by my power" A woman in white appeared in front of them.

She stood on a ledge that overlooked them, ice forming at her feet and spreading out.

"You…? Wolborg?!" Bryan exclaimed.

"Shiva." Ozuma corrected him.

"She is one of the beasts Boris captured. She ruled the tundra for centuries. At some point she was captured by Boris, her spirit harnessed, and given to one of the graduates of the Abbey. Tala, in other words, has the power of the silver wolf."

"Ozuma. It has been quite some time…"She spoke softly and floated down to their level.

With each step thick iced form around her feet.

"Not another step!" Ozuma warned.

Flash Leopard set fire to her path, not allowing her to come any closer to them. Bryan's blade was severely damaged from his final attack against Tala, it laid broken and lifeless behind the wall of fire.

The woman did not speak and only looked to her right, where Artemis reappeared, laughing.

"My sister…" Artemis grinned.

Artemis' crazed eyes looked at Ozuma "It is just him, sister...he can't take on both of us. Now that you're here, let's just finish them all off!"

"Two against one, huh?" Ozuma glared.

"All is fair in war...your clan had no problem ganging up on me...let's see how you like it!" She cackled.

The ground began to shake, and the sky that had been illuminated by Artemis now turned dark and black.

Artemis said nothing but seemed to shiver a little at what was approaching them. Tala struggled to stay awake as he gazed over at 'Shiva'.

Bryan looked down at Tala, attentive to him instead of the two who stood before them. It didn't matter to him, either way he didn't see a way for them to survive an attack from both women, and the darkness in the sky just spelled more bad news.

* * *

><p>Kai had successfully walked out of Boris' base, leaving it in need of heavy repair. He walked in the forest, setting fire to it in his path, charring it beyond recognition.<p>

From such destruction, it provided enough of a distraction for Max to escape. The guards couldn't keep up with the swift blonde, as he carefully followed Kai.

Boris watched on his screens. Several cameras had broken and impaired his view and control over the island. All he did was smirk and begin to laugh.

"Sir?" Someone asked.

Boris didn't respond and only laughed. For the third time his plans were falling apart. The more he thought about it the more uncontrollable his laughter became. At the very least he would unleash hell. He would unleash Black Dranzer upon the world.

The man no longer cared. He couldn't have the world, Tala always stood in the way. It was Tala who lost at the championships, Tala who had warned Tyson, and now Tala who kept poking his nose where it didn't belong.

It was true that the amount of love he had felt for Tala was countered by an extreme hate. Tala, Kai, and Tyson...all young men whom he hated with a passion. It was no matter, if Boris was going to fail this time; if he was going to fall he would drag all of them down with him.

Lives of these boys weighed nothing on his conscious. Voltaire has forsaken Kai, and the Blitzkrieg Boys had no family- no one to go home too.

"We're...we're all going to die here!"He laughed hysterically.

"This is it! Its done! I don't care anymore! I will be rid of them forever!"He laughed.

"Sir…?"One of the guards asked.

Boris continued to laugh and laugh. It would all be over soon. It was just now he realized the futility of it all...and all he could do was laugh about it.

* * *

><p>Artemis looked behind her at the trees and witnessed them dying.<p>

"It's him…"She said.

Ozuma looked uneasy at what emerged. A demonic figure of Kai appeared from the trees, charring everything around him. No, he wasn't Kai anymore. Shiva only stood still, gazing in front of her at Tala- her former master. Ozuma gritted his teeth. He knew he would not be able to take on all three of them.

* * *

><p><strong>In the Manga the Saint Shields worked for Boris along with the Demolition Boys, however they had other plans. Ozuma has actually defeated Tala and stole Wolborg from him, claimg Tala's heart was too black to ever wield a sacred beast. FUN FACTS.<strong>

**Please review. It boosts my ego. :)**


	23. Help

**This chapter is shorter than I originally planned, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer, since my updates have been sluggish lately. Here's the next update, there's more to come!**

* * *

><p>Artemis began giggling, very happy at seeing Kai in such a twisted state. Ozuma could only glare, knowing he was in trouble. Many bit-beasts needed to be sealed away, but Black Dranzer was the worst of them all. It couldn't be sealed, it had to be destroyed. His mind circled at what to do; sometimes the smartest thing to do was just run, but they needed to get Tala out of there too.<p>

"Bryan, are you strong enough to carry him?" Ozuma whispered to him.

Bryan shot a look at Ozuma. On average, yes, Bryan would be able to carry Tala...but under the present circumstance he could hardly carry himself. The falcon was running on fumes. Ozuma bit his lip.

Giving them no more time to think, Kai had attacked them- or rather...Black Dranzer.

"Flash Leopard!" Ozuma yelled on instinct.

The dark fire swirled around them in a flurry. Bryan held Tala close, trying to shield him from the fire while Ozuma cowered away from the heat. A painful cry came through to them as Flash Leopard tried to take the brunt of the attack.

Ozuma peered through at Flash Leopard, his face becoming distraught as he witnessed his bit-beast be seared by the black flames.

"NO! STOP!" Ozuma snapped at the possessed Kai. It was a dazzling sight for Artemis. She wanted Ozuma to suffer more, much more than the others on the island.

"Where's your team Ozuma? How does it feel?! To be alone!?" She laughed, glancing at Kai with a fond smile.

"She talks to much..."Bryan glared at her from a distance. He couldn't help, but he wanted to. Although Bryan and Ozuma didn't get along, he didn't like the idea of Ozuma seeing his bit-beast tortured in front of him.

"Don't give in Flash Leopard! We have to-ah!"Ozuma shouted in pain. The black fire's attention was now on Ozuma instead of Bryan. There, Bryan watched as the skin blistered and charred on Ozuma's leg.

The blader fell to his knees, yelling and screaming in pain as the layer of skin was completely burned from his leg and muscle became visible.

Max trampled through the forest, hopping over plants that appeared to be burning even though no fire could be seen. His deep blue eyes traced the scenery, a look of worry and dread on his face. It was horrible. The forest was practically burned to ash where Kai had walked.

Max feared what may have happened to Tala, and didn't want to think about the state his friends could be in. Then there was the matter of Draciel...

"It's like I walked into a horror film..."Max bit his lip as he made his way through the dry mess.

After a while, he could no longer stand the smell in the forest. The pain traveled up his nose and into his forehead, creating a very painful sinus headache for the blonde. As a thought struck him, he frantically covered his nose and mouth with his shirt. It had not occurred to him that smelling that rancid scent may be toxic to him.

Ozuma's screaming rang inside Max's ears. Max's eyes widened in fear of what may have been happening; and without thinking, he bolted through the ash. He inhaled much of it, but didn't care...somebody was hurt!

His eyes began to burn, as did his lungs, throat, and nose. The more he breathed the air, the more his respiratory system was racked with pain. Max finally slowed and came to a stop when he saw an ominous black figure. He grimaced from the pain; as well as the sight of Kai swirled in black smoke and fire.

He quickly ducked behind some pathetic looking trees, but it was enough to hide him for the time being. Max wore such bright colors, that if anyone looked over it was possible he would be caught a glimpse of.

"I..I have to help..."he whispered to himself, but he didn't know how he would do that. He put his hand to his forehead in frustration. His sinus' stung like acid had been poured in them.

Ozuma cried out again, the sound wore down on Max as he covered his ears and shut his eyes tight. Max shook with anger as he tried to drown out the sounds of agonized screams.

* * *

><p>"Oh I'm so glad you're alright!" Mr. Dickenson yelled as Joseph led the group to the beach.<p>

"Spencer!"Ian yelled.

"Ian." Spencer looked relieved as the shortest Blitzkrieg member ran to him. Kenny and Hilary were also overjoyed to see Tyson and Ray.

"Ohoho thank goodness you're all ok!" Kenny cried.

"I am very happy, and relieved to see you all...forgive me if I don't show it but there's other business to do. This helicopter will take the injured first, for the rest of you...a ship is on it's way here." Mr. Dickenson explained.

"We have to stay here until then?!" Daichi exclaimed.

"I understand you are all exhausted and hungry, but we only have enough room in the helicopter for a few people. We have no choice but to take the ones who need more immediate care." He said.

"Yeah..I...I understand" Daichi nodded.

"So Mr. D did come after all." Mystel said.

"Yes, but it was actually Ozuma and his friends who led me here."

Joseph nodded "You don't need to get us a gift or anything...buuuut a nice gift basket should do the trick." he grinned.

"Oh, haha"Hilary said sarcastically.

Mr. Dickenson looked over at Brooklyn.

"We'll need to take Brooklyn, is there anyone else who should get to the hospital?"

Garland looked at Mr. Dickenson before looking back at Brooklyn, "you'll be alright pal...help's here."

"...G-Garland..."Brooklyn said weakly.

Garland and some medics picked up the stretcher he had been strapped to and walked him over to the helicopter. Julia was next, followed by Mathilda.

"Julia...? Julia!" Raul panicked.

"Don't cry Raul" she frowned "I'll be fine. The group needs you to be calm."

"Yeah...but" he tried to hold tears back.

Julia had a stern look on her face then closed her eyes, smiling.

"Hey, don't worry little brother. We've been through worse than this."

Raul nodded, but he couldn't think of any.

"Stay strong" she playfully hit his shoulder while she was helped into the helicopter.

Raul watched her with a pitiful look, but nodded weakly.

Mr. Dickenson waited until they were loaded in the helicopter then gave the pilot a thumbs up for take off. The pilot nodded and started up the engine. Mathilda watched them from inside the chopper; a look of guilt across her face. She was happy, but at the same time felt a pain in her chest at leaving her friends behind on such a forsaken island.

"I've never seen anything like this..."one of the medics said as they examined Brooklyn.

"Remember what that boy told us" the other said

"Yeah but...that's insane! Bit-beasts...? I thought those were just a gimmick to get people to watch the tournaments."

Julia frowned "A gimmick?! They're real."

"That boy said they just animals spirits." The first medic said, "There's supposedly a large history about them. Come on, let's stabilize him" he said, hooking an I.V. up to Brooklyn.

A third medic was attending to Julia's wound.

"I didn't know helicopters were this big."Mathilda was in awe.

"It's no ordinary helicopter" the third medic said. "We're special forces" he smiled.

"Special forces?!" She gasped.

"This whole thing about bit-beasts may not be strong enough, but...a kidnapping charge of all you will be enough to convict."he smiled.

Mr. Dickenson watched the helicopter and then looked at the rest of the beybladers "I am going to stay here with you until the ship arrives. I want you to tell me the details."

"Well..uh..."Tyson began.

"Boris is crazy! Kai and Tala are gone! And, and Brooklyn went insane!" Kenny started yelling.

"Chief...calm down."Hilary sighed.

Ray shook his head and filled in what he knew. Garland would add things here and there, and so did Spencer. Everyone gave a version of their story they felt could be helpful, and Garland told Mr. Dickenson about how Tala had ran off after Kai.

Mr. Dickenson nodded, looking worried more and more as he heard. If only Brooklyn was able to tell them something. He couldn't speak, so they had no choice but to send him in the helicopter.

"Joseph, where's everyone else?" Mariah asked.

"Ozuma went to help Bryan, Dunga and Mariam are off scouting the island to find Boris' base. I came to lead you guys here to ...OH! And that's not all..The Majestics are here too."

"The Majestics!?" Tyson exclaimed.

"They're just beyond the forest, keeping watch so to speak." Joseph nodded.

"It seems that if there's a fight we'll have back-up."Spencer said.

"A fight? Do you think there will be more?" Ming-Ming asked.

"It's possible..."Garland said before Spencer could answer. "I wouldn't rule it out."

Spencer nodded and looked at his beyblade, grasping it. Ian looked at spencer and told him that Bryan had stayed behind to fight Tala.

"Something's really wrong with him" Ian said.

"It looked like what happened to your friend, Brooklyn." Joseph said.

Mr. Dickenson pulled his eyebrows together "This is serious...most serious" he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.

* * *

><p>Mariam and Dunga ran through the forest, and soon came to the trail of ashes.<p>

"Whoa." Mariam blinked in confusion as she looked over it. She made out footprints in the ash heading towards the lighthouse area.

"Mariam hurry up!" Dunga snapped at her.

"You go on without me, I'm going to see what's holding Ozuma up. He's been gone too long" she ran after the footprints.

"Wha-huh?! Mariam!"he growled. Dunga scoffed and rubbed the sighed of his head, before following the charred trees back to Boris' base

* * *

><p>Sorry for the length of this, I feel it's a bit too short, but sadly this is all I am able to add at this point in time. Please review! It's always appreciated.<p> 


	24. Breaking Point

**Ok so this one is longer, I hope you enjoy this one. It was really intense writing it. Also, see below author's note. **

* * *

><p>Mariam ran through the ashes, beginning to cough from inhaling the air. Soon Max came into view and along with him; the view of Ozuma. Max heard rustling behind him, and frantically turned around to look. Mariam rushed passed him, jumped into the air, and fired her blade straight at Kai.<p>

"Mariam! Don't!" Max yelled. He wasn't going to ask what she was doing there, or how, his only concern was that she didn't fight Kai.

In yelling he accidentally gave away his position. Artemis frowned and looked towards the trees, where she saw a glimpse of orange. Kai whipped around and blew Mariam back with some black fire.

"No!" Max yelled.

Mariam hit her back against some of the rocks, and her blade wobbled as soon as it landed from such a shaky launch.

"Mariam! Stay away!" Ozuma yelled.

Artemis jumped towards the trees, going after Max. The blonde bit his lip as he ran away, trying to hide from her. He wanted to help, but he had nothing to defend himself with. He couldn't fight one on one with a bit-beast!

Artemis glared in Max's direction. The blonde ducked behind the trees, but it was too late, she knew he was there. Before long, Max was running again.

"You aren't going to run from me!" She snapped.

"I am too!" Max yelled back, running frantically through the ashes again.

Mariam was able to divert Kai's attention to her for a moment, letting Ozuma collect himself. His body was shaking as severe burns laid over his skin. A dark fog emitted from them, a symbol of Black Dranzer's impurity. Mariam struggled to her feet as she ordered another attack on Kai.

"M-Mariam..."Ozuma tried to warn her.

Bryan was frowning as his green eyes darted to Ozuma, Mariam, and then Kai. Shiva, the spirit known as Wolborg for the longest time stood there. She acted as if nothing was happening around her, like the screams of agony were silent. Shiva watched the sky, seeming uninterested in battle. Artemis had taken off after Max, and for the moment, Kai was distracted.

Bryan put Tala's arm around his neck and stood up with him. Tala winced but opened his eyes. He couldn't see anything in particular, he just saw blurred shapes and colors. Even though Tala's body was reacting, he was not fully there.

Bryan lifted Tala onto his back and began to make a run for it. He couldn't fight with Falborg in such a state, and he took this golden opportunity to get his leader to safety. Kai was busy fighting Mariam to notice that two of his prey had escaped.

* * *

><p>Dunga followed the burned trail that led him to a rock formation. There was a giant hole in it that lead to an interior. He smiled triumphantly as he began to walk inside. He was shocked when he saw bodies lying on the ground. The smell was putrid...the scent of burning flesh. Dunga covered his nose and mouth with his hand and winced.<p>

"yeghk...what's this about..?!"He proceeded cautiously. He was horrified to see that some of the people were still alive. They were groaning in pain, but he couldn't help them.

As he continued his boots soon hit water. He looked down to find the floor covered in water, and stretching it's way to the injured. Dunga didn't know where it was coming from and kept walking. Soon he came to the source.A door with water puddling out from beneath the crack. The door was on the left side of the hall, and didn't continue down the hall like the burn damage.

Dunga looked down the hall, then the way he came. He cautiously reached for the door and pulled it open, ready for anything, or so he thought.

A massive wall of water collapsed down on him and washed him down the hall, back out the entrance. When Dunga fell to the floor he gasped once he hit air again.

"What was THAT?!"

Dunga looked up at the entrance, not understanding what a giant wall of water was doing behind the door. To put it lightly, he was expecting something far different to be causing the water leakage.

Soon a large figure emerged completely covered in armor.

"Whoa-oa-oa-ao!"Dunga scurried to his feet and readied his beyblade. Draciel looked at him, making Dunga jump.

Draciel's eyes looked at the ground, then back up at Dunga, some water spouted from the ground and hit Dunga in the face.

"Ah! Ow it got in my eyes!" Dunga shrunk back and rubbed his eyes. Draciel then continued walking, leaving Dunga there to wipe the water from his eyes.

By the time Dunga had wiped his eyes, they still burned but not too bad. He kept blinking and looked at Draciel who was walking away. He looked back at the base and then at Draciel, utterly confused on what he should do. He didn't know if he should finish his mission or stop Draciel.

Dunga looked between the base and Draciel, then stomped his foot against the ground in anger. He decided to stop Draciel, wherever he was going, it wouldn't be good.

"Hang on!" Dunga readied his launcher.

Draciel simply knocked him over with some more water as he continued on. Before long, he was too far for Dunga to be able to stop him.

"What is going on?!" Dunga yelled in frusteration.

* * *

><p>Bryan moved as fast as he could over the rocks; trying to keep Tala balanced on his back as he did.<p>

"You're alot heavier than you look..." Bryan huffed as he carefully crawled down some rocks with one arm. He quickly hopped to what seemed like a flat surface, but his shoes slipped across some ice, causing him to fall. Bryan hit several rocks on the way down and dropped Tala.

The falcon winced in pain and arched his back. There was a pain in the middle of his back that felt like it bursted through his stomach. He gasped for air as he painfully turned to his side and curled up in a ball.

Bryan gasped and forced himself to his feet, holding his stomach. He had the wind knocked out of him, but he was fine.

"T-Tala..." he limped over to where Tala had fallen; attempting to lift him onto his back again. Bryan grimaced in pain yet forced his muscles to pick Tala up and continued carrying him. The silver haired blader had began feeling warm, he knew what that meant, hypothermia was setting in. Bryan chewed the inside of his cheek as he walked on the lower part of the ruined lighthouse. He still had a few more rocks to conquer.

"It's okay...I got you..."Bryan winced as he coughed.

He thought back to their childhood; how many times they needed to support each other when the other got to hungry to walk. They had always taken care of each other, until the Abbey, and then it seemed they had drifted apart.

Training, training, training, eat, sleep, more training; it never ended. Over time, they had stopped speaking completely. In the Abbey, Tala couldn't look after Bryan. They had been separated. Bryan didn't want to be kicked from the Abbey, so he did whatever was asked of him. The only thing worse than being in the Abbey alone, was being on the streets alone. He refused to go back home, he'd never go back home to his father. The falcon shuddered at the thought of "home" and that man he called father.

He wanted to stay by Tala's side, that's how they survived. Bryan could live on the streets, sure, he could fend for himself just fine...but...he would have died if it weren't for Tala. Those times were miserable for both of them, yet they still found the courage to smile. The games they used to play, the plans they had made up to cheat people, all of it was not a means of survival to them but a game.

The two had forgotten the loneliness of the streets, and endured the pain at the Abbey so they would never go back to those lonely streets. However, it felt as though they lost their smiles. They managed to stay together, but something had changed.

"Oomph!" Bryan fell face first into the rock; Tala landed just to the side of him. Bryan felt dizzy, and his body seemed to weigh 1,000 pounds. The cold rocked pressed against his cheek as his vision faded out. He saw a pair of boots rushing towards him.

"Bryan! Tala!" the voice screamed.

Bryan closed his eyes and sighed, losing his senses.

* * *

><p><em>"Kai! Why didn't you use Black Dranzer!?" Voltaire yelled.<em>

_"I'm not your puppet." Kai said bluntly, "You're not going to control me! You can't!"_

_"What do you think you're going to do Kai? Leave? Like your father?" Voltaire tilted his head._

_Kai frowned, glaring at his grandfather with disdain._

_"Your father didn't care enough to stay, Kai. There were things to be done! He refused those responsibilities and how long has it been since you heard of him? Don't make the same mistake he did! Wasting his time with this silly game!" Voltaire snapped._

_Kai stepped back, only glaring at the old man._

_"I built this coporation with my bare hands, I gave you, your father EVERYTHING! He could have been something, but no, he wastes his time with this game! You're doing the same thing! Throwing your life away for a 'game' a game that brings you nothing! If you insist on beyblading, atleast turn it into something useful! Bring me the bit-beasts!"_

_"My father didn't leave, you got rid of him!" Kai snapped._

_"He happily walked out that door. He CHOSE to walk away. You can either be useless like him, or you can do something useful for the company!"_

_"Forget it. I couldn't care less about the company!"_

_"Then you have three choices...you either bring me the bit-beasts, give up on this game, or leave!" Voltaire yelled._

_Kai clenched his hands into fists. After everything, his father leaving, being abandoned in the Abbey. Kai saw clearly what it was. It was just another means of his grandfather trying to control him. Kai wouldn't easily give up beyblading, so he was shipped the Abbey. His grandfather called it a silly game, yet he had funded what could be the jist of an army. Kai knew, if Voltaire saw no point in it, he wouldn't have invested so much in the Abbey. Voltaire just saw it as another means to gain power...he could say whatever he wanted about beyblading; Kai knew the truth._

_"Why did you quit...?" a voice asked from the darkness._

_Kai stopped, turning around to see an empty hallway...the hallway of the Abbey that led to Black Dranzer. Voltaire had disappeared, all that remained was Kai and the hall._

_His eyes scanned the surroundings, but he couldn't see anyone else._

_"Why did you quit? Did you give up?" the voice asked again._

_"Who's there?" Kai demanded, "I have had enough of these stupid games!"_

_"Like beyblading?" it asked._

_"It's...that's not just a game to me!"_

_"Then what is it to you?"_

_Kai didn't answer. He was so infuriated when Brooklyn had called it just a game. Kai took it seriously, he wanted to win...he wanted to beat Tyson._

_"Why don't you want anyone to be better than you, Kai?" the voice asked._

_"No one is! I'm the greatest around! A-almost...I just have to..."_

_"Beat Tyson? Then what?"_

_"...Hm..."Kai frowned, "Go away!"_

_"You'll...quit?" the voice asked._

_"Enough!"_

_"Why do you keep beyblading Kai? If it isn't for power? If it isn't for fun...then what? Is it to be the best?"_

_Kai didn't answer. His eyes eventually gazed up to the hallway. Kai stared into the endless path, the path to ultimate power._

_"To defeat Tyson? What will change when you become the champion...will you care? Will you defend your title?" it asked._

_"Shut up. You're annoying me..."_

_"I wonder Kai...what is it you want? They're all still your friends...despite everything. You handed over their bit-beasts to Tala. Why do you cast them out? Why did you quit? No worthy challenge? You were so desperate to defeat Tyson that you joined Boris a second time...and then Brooklyn knocked you down a few notches."_

_"I told you to shut up!"_

_"You're a coward...why do you shut everyone out? Do you think you're better than them? You still call the bladebreakers your friends, even after you do nothing for them!"_

_"Shut up!"_

_"But..." the voice faded, as Wyatt appeared infront of him. Kai's eyes widened as he saw Wyatt appear before him for the second time._

_"You never gave me the time of day...What did I ever do to you Kai?"_

_"W-wyatt...it isn't like that." Kai reached out to him._

_"What did I ever do to you?!"Wyatt snapped and bowed his hand, burrying them in his hands._

_Kai shook his head and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him lightly "It was my fault...I should've protected you from them, but...I wasn't strong enough. It was all my fault."_

_"Strong enough...so...you're weak?" Wyatt asked._

_Kai gritted his teeth "I...I shouldn't have let that happen to you."_

_"But you did...I never did anything to you, and yet...I just wanted to be like you. Kai...you're the best beyblader in the world."_

_"I...I wasn't..." Kai looked for the right words. He thought he was over this. He thought he had come to terms about Wyatt's death. To hear those words come from Wyatt...it hurt. Kai hadn't defeated Tyson, he had lost to Spencer during the championship, he had let Wyatt get twisted by an artificial bit-beast, and all Wyatt ever wanted was to talk to Kai._

_Wyatt faced Kai, staring him directly in the eye "Why did you let it happen?" he asked darkly._

_Kai was speechless, completely at a loss for words, he couldn't even manage to say he was sorry. He tried to speak but his voice was not heard._

_"Why...?" Wyatt asked again, "What did I do to deserve that?"_

_The two-toned haired blader stepped backwards, he was trying to justify it, but he couldn't. There was nothing he could say, nothing that would describe how sorry he was. He had tried to bury the memory of Wyatt deep within his mind, just like he did with Black Dranzer. It was too painful to remember, he refused to, but now he couldn't run from it._

_"Why do you shut everyone out? People who love and adore you? Why do you treat everyone like they aren't worthy of your words? Like they're all just...just toys...waiting to be used and thrown away. Like puppets..."_

_Kai's eyes widened, his pupils narrowing, and his face flushing white. There was a clump stuck in his throat that he couldn't gulp down. This was not a time he could just ignore it, he couldn't turn his back on these words, of these thoughts. It was impossible for him to turn his back on Wyatt. There was no escape for Kai._

_"That's all anyone is to you...isn't it Kai? You use them, and when you no longer need them...you throw them away. It doesn't matter if they're friends."_

_"Stop...stop looking at me like that!" Kai yelled frantically._

_"No matter how much you try to run from it you are just like your grandfather! You share the same blood! Family, or friends, all you see are puppets!" Wyatt yelled, his gaze intense, as if his eyes were burning a hole through Kai._

_Kai took a few steps back, breaking out in a cold sweat._

_"You deserve this...you deserve to be alone" Wyatt turned his back towards him and began walking down the hall._

_"Wyatt! Wyatt wait! Don't go!" Kai rushed after him "I'm sorry! Wyatt! I'm sorry! Forgive me!" he begged._

_No matter how fast Kai ran he could not catch up, even though Wyatt was walking away casually. Kai ran faster and faster, trying to catch him but all to no avail._

_The floor beneath Kai fell suddenly, and he almost fell into the abyss. Desperately he grasped the edge of the hall and began to pull himself up._

_"Wy-Wyatt..."he winced as he pulled his torso onto the ledge. Infront of him were two shoes and when he looked up Wyatt was looming over him._

_Kai had a mixed expression of shock, terror, and relief on his face. Wyatt smiled at him, that same sweet, eager smile he had when they first met._

_"Kai...you're the best" Wyatt smiled enthusiastically._

_Kai's eyes were watery, as he stared up at Wyatt. Suddenly, Wyatt's smile changed into the twisted, maniacle smile when he had control of Cyber Dranzer and he laughed like mad._

_"You're the best Kai! You're the absolute best! I want to be just like you!" He yelled and kicked Kai hard in the face, sending him flying off the ledge and into the darkness below._

_Kai saw flashes of light and color, before the last thing he saw was a blurry Wyatt fading into the distance as he fell._

_"Wyatt!"Kai yelled, reaching towards him, but then...everything went dark. Kai sat in the darkness, not hearing anything but a ringing noise. His heart was ready to leap out of his chest, and it felt like his stomach would join it. Cold sweat covered his body as he attempted to catch his breath._

_"I-I..."he spoke quietly, and in a shaky voice._

_"I'm...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."he whispered._

_Kai couldn't face Wyatt. Not after what happened, he was running from it the entire time._

* * *

><p>"Sharkrash!" Mariam yelled, sending her beyblade in for another attack. Kai was able to blast her back again. Fire soon enveloped Mariam, and she screamed at the top of her lungs. Ozuma reached out to her trying to help but Flash Leopard was too damaged to help.<p>

Max heard Mariam's scream and stopped "Mariam!" he yelled "Ah!" he jumped out of the way as Artemis' attacks.

"FIGHT ME!" Artemis yelled.

"You're insane! Why do this to people?!"

"It's what you all deserve. You...all of you abuse us! You use us! You always have, I'll show you we have the power!" she extanded her arms outward and channeled a large beam of light in front of her.

Max took off running behind the trees, as the light flashed and light beams cut through the trees; completely disintegrating them. Max ducked, continuing running low to the ground as the light chased him.

A large tidal wave emerged from the burnt forest and covered everything. It took Max by surprise as one minute he was running from the laser and next he was completely under water. He could make out the light beams in the water briefly, before it faded.

The water pushed Artemis back, drowning her in the depths. She kicked and screamed, trying to find the surface. The water around Max receded, leaving him on the ground coughing and gasping for air.

"What in the world..."he ran his fingers through his hair, getting some of the water out and moving the hair from sticking to his forehead.

His deep blue eyes looked to his left, where he saw Draciel. Max didn't know what to make of it at first, but he smiled and stood up.

"Thanks for saving me again Draciel" Max smiled, then turned around to view a huge wall of water. The water was think with ash and debris from the burnt forest. Max noticed it no longer hurt to breath the air. It was as if all the toxins were washed away, and now held within that water wall.

Max cautiously walked closer to it to inspect it. He could see dim flashes of light on the other side, then he saw them move to another direction. Artemis was on the other side, trying to break through the wall.

"AHHG! What are you doing?!" Artemis yelled "He imprisoned you! You were once a proud, formidable god! And now you are reduced to...to a children's toy!"

Draciel kept the water wall up while Artemis tried breaking through it or finding ways around it. She screamed as her strikes soon had more fury in them, but she wasted all her energy and fell to her knees.

"W-why...? Genbu!" She cried tears rolling from her eyes, "Why do you...do you protect that boy?"

Artemis continued to hit the wall, her attacks weak before the light faded completely.

"I don't understand..."she closed her eyes.

Max sighed a little and closed his eyes then opened them and looked at Draciel frantically.

"Draciel! Black Dranzer! Ozuma and Mariam need your help!" He said.

Draciel nodded and raised his hand. The water tilted towards Artemis as a crushing force of the wave hit her head on. She didn't move, and sat there, allowing the water to take her. Once the water hit her, the wave continued moving in the direction of Ozuma and Mariam. Draciel began walking while Max followed cautiously, looking behind him, a little paranoid from the events that had transpired on the island.

Draciel's greaves clunked against the ground as he walked. Max stayed close to him and saw the broken body of Artemis laying in the mud in pieces. The blonde pulled his eyebrows together out of sympathy for her. Was she really so bad? She never knew the love of a master before.

"Hey...Draciel...?" Max looked up at him with a sad look.

Draciel continued walking.

"You know...I always considered you a friend." Max confessed before looking at the ground.

* * *

><p>Shiva looked forward, seeing that Bryan and Tala had left. She was not so concerned with that as she was something else.<p>

Draciel's wave came crashing from the forest and hit Kai head-on. Shiva turned around and waved her hand, turning it into solid ice.

Draciel and max emerged soon after it. Shiva's gaze was cold and intense as she watched the two. Kai stood to his feet after being blind-sided by water. Black wings appeared from his back, but they were not made of feathers, they were simply made of black flame.

"Mariam!" Max ran over to her and knelt to her side, taking her shoulder's gently. Mariam wasn't as badly scorched as Ozuma, but she still looked bad in some areas.

"Don't worry, I'll keep you safe." Max assured her.

"Keep dreaming...Max..."She couldn't help but smile through the pain. "H-here..."she handed him her ear piece.

"Contact the others...tell them it's a go..." she instructed.

Max nodded "Y-yes...ok" he took the ear piece and spoke into it.

"Hello? Hello? Is anyone there? This is Max!"

"Max?!" Mr. Dickenson was on the other line.

"Mr. Dickenson!" Max smiled with relief "Mariam's injured, so is assume...Kai's here...but...it's bad. She says it's time to go!" he yelled.

Mr. Dickenson nodded "I was afraid of this...where are you?"

"Uhm..."Max looked around.

Mariam grabbed the ear piece "The lighthouse. Joseph knows it!"

"Don't worry! We're on our way!" Mr. Dickenson said.

"No just run away!"Max yelled, but there was no response.

Draciel did his best to keep Kai at bay, and Sharkrash still had some fight left.

Shiva was not participating, she jerked suddenly and looked up at the sky. There was anger visible on her face and she ran away; pursuing Bryan and Tala.

* * *

><p><strong>If you all remember the show, Wyatt was a huge source in Kai's character in V-Force, but it didn't get expanded on very much. For those who don't know, Wyatt DIES in Kai's arms. The english version cut it out though and made it seem like he just "was never the same" but no, he died. <strong>

**Also, I am trying to find a happy medium between the Manga and the Anime because I would like to pay tribute to Aoki's actual work and not what the Anime did to it. That being said, most people only have the anime for reference, so I am trying to find some middle ground between then. **

**I expanded deeper into Kai's character here too. I always felt him to be rather boring as a character, so thought I would actually dive into what might actually be going on inside Kai. It's made an appearence several times in the anime, but wasn't something very expanded upon. There will be more to come in the next chapter! I hope you liked it, please review :)**


	25. A flicker of hope

**This is a long one. I meant to update last night but my internet died unexpectedly. Anyway see below author's notes if you want anything answered. Thank you all for your patients and sticking with me this long :)**

* * *

><p>"Oh my...this is terrible..." Mr. Dickenson looked at Tala and Bryan, though Tala seemed to be in worse shape. Bryan struggled in his sleep before gasping awake. Ian looked overjoyed while Spencer looked relieved; though some worry still remained for Tala's well being, but at least they were all together now.<p>

"The boat will be here soon..."Mr. Dickenson assured them.

"Uhm..."Mariah spoke up, "I...I think Tyson's gone."

"What?" Mr. Dickenson panicked a little.

The other's looked around, they couldn't find Tyson anywhere, but in the back of their minds it was clear where he might have gone. After seeing Tala in such a state, he had gone off on his own.

"Oh, Tyson..."Kenny sighed, putting his hand to his forward.

"Erhg that idot! Mr. Dickenson we have to do something!" Hilary yelled.

Mr. Dickenson wiped sweat from his brow as he thought, he would have to go after Tyson, but he wanted to avoid endangering them further. It couldn't be helped, Tyson's emotions got the better of him, and if they fought in a group there'd be a better chance at saving Tyson. However, if they stayed there, no one else would be harmed but it'd be Tyson's sacrifice. He had to make a decision fast.

"I overheard. We can't waste anymore time." Robert approached Mr. Dickenson.

"Y-yes." Mr. Dickenson nodded.

"We'll go on ahead. Time is of the essence. Whatever is going on it won't be good and Tyson will be in grave danger. "Robert looked to Joseph who agreed to show them the way to the lighthouse.

Mr. Dickenson felt a deep responsibility for all the bladers on the island, so didn't know whether he should stay with the group or with The Majestics. He knew he would be no help to the battle, and his presence with the group seemed to calm the teens down. He sighed and wiped his forehead with his hankerchief. He decided to stay, but Ray walked after The Majestics, followed by Daichi.

"Where are you going?" Mr. Dickenson exclaimed.

Ray sighed and turned around, "I've had enough of this. It's time to end this and go home."

"Ray, we shouldn't-" Mariah started to say but was cut off by Ray.

"We have a better chance if we all go and fight instead of line up for the slaughter one by one!" He snapped, causing Mariah to cringe a little. Lee was also surprised at the outburst. Most people that knew Ray were surprised by it, but they understood, everyone was feeling on edge.

"That guy Boris gave me the creeps when I first say him and nothing's changed! I'll finally give him what-for this time. If you guys want to sit around crying fine, but Ray and I are going to fight!" Daichi yelled.

Lee sighed and nodded as he walked to Ray's side. Mariah had her eyebrows pulled together but nodded in understanding. Ray wasn't mad at her; he was angry at the situation, so she brushed off his harsh tone and went to join him. Gary and Kevin exchanged looks then looked back at Mariah.

The two boys went to join her as well but Kevin was mumbling to himself, "this is insane."

"Ok White Tiger X is on board!" Daichi looked at the others, "this is your last chance."

With that they walked off, not willing to waste anymore time. Mr. Dickenson didn't want any of them to leave and ran to stop them.

Ray was determined and not even Mr. Dickenson could turn him away from his goal. They could either sit and wait for the boat, or actually help. Whatever had happened to Kai, he wouldn't be able to fight all of them at once...and Max and Ozuma needed their help.

"Psh."Rick scoffed and followed along with his arms crossed.

Mr. Dickenson looked frusterated before he turned to the remaining bladers.

"I hope you understand I am in a very difficult situation. I would prefer to keep you all out of danger, but considering our options...it would be adventageous of us to attack all at once. I...would prefer to avoid a fight all together but it seems that is out of the question." He was talking about Tyson, Ray, and the others who had followed.

"All right. If this is to be it I want anyone who can fight to follow us."Mr. Dickenson rounded them up and followed losely behind Ray. Ming-Ming, Crusher, Emily, Michael, Claude, Aaron, and Miguel followed. Raul also jumped to fight. He was afraid, and didn't want to put himself in more danger...but he wanted to get a few good hits in for Julia.

Garland reassured Mr. Dickenson that the rest would be fine and it'd be safe for them to stay there anyway. Ian, however, went running to the group.

"Ian!"Spencer called.

Ian didn't reply and caught up with the group. He wanted to fight. Ian had been left behind at the last championship. Because of his defeat to Kai he had to stay behind and was unable to stand with his team at the tournament. He was also little help when Boris appeared again. This was his turn to strike back, and he would show no mercy.

"I feel like we should be doing something..."Hilary leaned her chin on her knees.

"There's nothing we can do." Kenny looked at her, "We can't go against Kai. We have to leave it up to Tyson and the others."

"I know. I know that, I just-I just wish there was something more we could do to help Chief...that's all." Hilary sighed.

Spencer looked at them for a few moments before looking back to his teammates.

Tala's appearance seemed to be returning to normal. He was in a state that Brooklyn was in but instead of the dark aura he was practically ice cold.

"I saw this happen to Brooklyn before." Garland confessed.

"Before?" Spencer and the others looked at him.

"For the BEGA tournament. After Brooklyn's defeat to Kai he changed. I never saw anything like that before and I knew it would be a bad idea to make him fight Tyson. Brooklyn recovered, thankfully, but...that was the first time I had ever seen a bit-beast infest someone. Boris didn't even care. He still wanted to use Brooklyn even though it could have destroyed everything...and it almost did!"

"That's who Boris is. I don't feel sorry for you." Spencer said bluntly.

"Wow, a little harsh don't you think?" Hilary frowned.

"No. Harsh is the reality of Boris."

"How was I suppose to know what would happen though? I was desperate and Boris offered-"

"Desperate for what? To be a champion? For a family tradition? That's your reason. Desperation to be a champion so you don't look like a screw up in the family. How's that working out?"

"Uhm...hey let's all calm down." Kenny tried to diffuse it the best he could.

"I get it, Spencer. I didn't believe you guys and yeah that's my own fault. It's not just about me though, it's about my team."

"Buuut...what's important is that Garland came around before it was too late." Hilary scooted over to them,

"After all...Garland realized Boris was wrong and left. It's no point being angry about it now right?" Hilary forced a smile.

"Yes, I mean we all were tricked by Boris and we're here now so how about we just forget about the past and move on? heh..hehe..."Kenny laughed nervously.

"Yeah I worked for Boris, I believed him, I followed him and I thought he'd make me a champion. I was wrong...but at one point you did all those things too." Garland frowned and stared down Spencer.

Hilary and Kenny were nervous at the tension. They both wanted to say something but Spencer scared them a little. They were both afraid Spencer and Garland would get physical but now wasn't the time. Spencer seemed to be reasonable enough to understand that, even if they didn't know him that well.

"We're in the same boat here. I don't want to fight you guys. I'm sorry for the way things had turned out." Garland spoke honestly.

"Oook I think maybe it's time-" Kenny got cut off when Bryan jumped awake and sat up frantically.

"What happened?"Bryan looked around.

"Bryan you startled me!"Hilary yelled, but she welcomed the distraction.

Spencer looked relieved and placed a heavy hand on Bryan's soldier.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah i'm fine; i'm fine." Bryan nodded and looked at Tala,

"Nothing happened did it?"

"No," Garland shook his head "We found you and Tala unconscious."

"Did you find the others? Where's Ian?"

"They left. Tyson ran off-anyway Bryan what happened?" Spencer asked.

"They-ah," Bryan grabbed his arm as he grimaced in pain. He was injured, but in his haste had failed to notice the pain; he could definitely feel it now though.

"Black Dranzer...he's back."

Spencer went pale when he heard that news, Hilary wasn't aware of what Black Dranzer was so she looked at Spencer and Bryan with confusion. Kenny, however, was very distraught at the news.

"But Max said-he said that Kai-"

"Kai was there but...It wasn't the same as Tala, he's using the beasts and Kai-Kai is under Black Dranzer's control somehow. I don't know how and I don't know...I just don't know." Bryan let out an exasperated sigh.

"_Black_ Dranzer?" Hilary asked.

"Long story..."Spencer shook his head.

"When Tyson won the championships the first time, we were in Russia we had to fight Spencer and his team. Kai joined it and had Black Dranzer, the strongest beyblade ever created." Kenny explained.

"Then...why is it bad?" Hilary asked.

"It's a dark power. It's not that different from Brooklyn's power but it's so much worse." Bryan rubbed the bridge of his nose, wincing from a headache.

"Worse than Brooklyn's..."Garland repeated, "If what happened to Brooklyn happened to Kai..."

"It already has..."Bryan looked at Tala again, "Same as Tala..."

"What happened..."Spencer asked.

Bryan didn't say anything at first, and rested his elbows on his knees. All he managed to do was shake his said. Bryan did his best to explain what had happened during the fight and when Kai had arrived. He confirmed Max's presence there along with Ozuma and Mariam.

"This is so much worse than I thought..."Kenny sighed and scratched his head.

* * *

><p>"Draciel! Just hold on!" Max yelled.<p>

Draciel stood in front of Max and Mariam protectively as he guarded them from the dark fire. Mariam's eyes glanced to Ozuma then back at Kai. Shakily she stood beside Max and ordered Sharkrash to attack. They managed to keep the heat off Ozuma, but Mariam grew more worried as Ozuma stopped moving. His body was severely burned and for the first time the thought of one of her teammates dying entered her mind.

"Max..Max we have to-"

"Kai!" Tyson yelled, "What are you doing?!"

"Tyson stay back!" Max called to him.

Kai hadn't responded to Tyson; he didn't even acknowledge his presence. The dark fire swirled around Draciel and Sharkrash without pause, and Draciel began to weaken. So far he had managed to hold his own against the dark fire, but Draciel's defenses were breaking. Tyson frowned and readied his launcher.

"Tyson no! Don't!" Max called.

Tyson launched Dragoon without a second thought, "I'm not leaving!" he shouted.

The beyblade landed and quickly came to Draciel's aid. Once the dragon appeared, Kai seemingly became aware of Tyson's presence. Tyson moved closer and stood protectively in front of Ozuma.

"Kai you have to snap out of it! Kai!" Tyson yelled.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Kai wasn't himself. Even his appearance was skewed, and Tyson knew he had to be stopped. He could get the details later, but right now he needed to end this.

* * *

><p><em>"Wyatt!" Kai yelled. Frantically, Kai looked around the dark space, but he was alone. He wasn't stranded in darkness, he could look down at himself and clearly see his arms and body, but nothing seemed to be around him.<em>

_"Wyatt!"Kai called again; hoping for any response, but there was none._

_Kai frantically moved around the dark area, hoping to find anything at all but it seemed to be endless. As his stride became wider and faster he looked around calling for Wyatt. That was when he heard it. Off in the distance he heard Wyatt's deranged laughter, but it sounded so far. With haste Kai ran; following the sound as it got louder and louder, but still seemed to be a great distance away. As he ran he suddenly stumbled into a hallway._

_Kai looked around him and this time he recognized his surroundings. This was Whitney prep school. His eyes widened and he hurried to the main room. There was an empty bey-dish where he remembered it but no one was in the room._

_"This...This is where..."Kai began to say._

_The memory of Wyatt rushing towards Kai came to mind._

_"You're Kai! Right!" Wyatt spoke with great enthusiasm in his voice. Kai winced as he played the memory like a video. He walked right by Wyatt, not giving him the slightest bit of acknowledgement. Immediately after Wyatt caught up again, trying to apologize for being rude and once again Kai walked away._

_"All...all I had to do was talk to him, I should have just..."he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration._

_"I just wanted to be more like you..."Wyatt's voice echoed through the room._

_"You don't, Wyatt...you don't want to be like me..."Kai growled and put his head in his hands._

_The voice continued to echo, but not in the room this time, Kai felt it in his skull. It pierced through his brain, the countless voiceless that became drowned out by Wyatt's laughter. Kai had tried to forget, he tried to purge it from his memory just like he did the Abbey. It had worked for a while. Wyatt was just a forgotten memory, something he forced out, but now he couldn't. Kai couldn't ignore him in death as he did in life, he was forced to face Wyatt._

_It was pain Kai had been running from, just like Black Dranzer. It hurt too much to see, so everything was blotted out into an endless black. Through the deranged laughter he heard the voice of his grandfather crack like a whip._

_Kai was only a child, standing as he watched his grandfather and father fight. It happened so suddenly. His father walked through the door without a second look. Kai reached out to his father as Voltaire restrained him._

_"No! No! Dad don't leave!" Kai yelled, but all to no avail._

_That was the very last time he saw his father. Voltaire began grooming Kai to become the next heir for Hiwatari Industries. Voltaire insisted that Kai stop beyblading; which Kai was happy to oblige. He destroyed every single attack ring, every bit, every beyblade part his father had given him. It was strange how clearly he could recall the event down to the last detail. Kai felt the furry inside him grow and unleashed when he threw a beyblade at the wall, along with satisfaction yet sadness when it shattered._

_"I hate beyblading! I hate it!" Kai would yell._

_Voltaire was pleased that the 'useless toys' had been destroyed, and Hiwatari Industries would have a rightful heir. Without explanation, Kai had been shipped to Russia. Voltaire had a business partner named Boris, who had been studying beyblades and the strange powers they seemed to possess._

_"He saw it as an opportunity for himself!" Kai spat with anger as the memory plagued him._

_"Grandfather saw them as useless until he saw an opportunity for himself...that's why he forced me into beyblading!"_

_"You're weak." An ominous voice cut through the noise._

_"You couldn't stop your father from leaving, you couldn't deny your grandfather, and you ran from true power when you had it."_

_Kai closed his eyes and tried to block out the noise. He didn't want to think about it._

_"Tyson is strong. Tyson has friends, he has family, no one would ever abandon him...is that why you betray him constantly? Why should Tyson have the championship, why should he have a family that loves him, why not you?"_

_"Shut up!" Kai's voice cracked._

_"You keep your distance because in your heart you know...that they will tire of you and cast you aside like all the rest!"_

_"That's not the reason at all. You don't know me!"_

_"Don't worry; my poor, poor Kai. I will never leave you. You won't be alone anymore. You won't ever need to worry." The voice said softly._

_It wasn't a voice that Kai had heard before, he didn't know who was speaking to him._

_"I can give you true power...stop rejecting me. Close your eyes and drift away..."The voice faded out softly._

_As the voice faded, so did the others, once again Kai was left alone in silence and darkness. His eyes stung from the tears that had formed. Memories of the Abbey, his father, Wyatt and his grandfather's lesson were still fresh in his memory. He regretted so much; there were so many things he wish he could have changed, but he just pushed all of it out of his memory. Tyson was his only lifeline. Without the will to defeat Tyson there would be nothing left...Kai knew this. He had nothing._

_Kai held his head in his hands at his realization. What was there for him? Where would he go back to? Tyson was his friend but also his enemy, his father left him a long time ago, and his grandfather was never there. Fire soon engulfed Kai; his flesh began to seer as he screamed in agony. The fire then disappeared, and Kai fell to his knees; trembling he hugged himself as the torture started over again._

_He couldn't forget Wyatt. Cyber Dranzer had fed off Wyatt and overpowered him. Could it have been avoided? Kai thought so. If he had only spoken to Wyatt he may not have needed to take such measures._

* * *

><p>"Dragoon! Attack!" Tyson yelled.<p>

The blue dragoon appeared and let out a thundering growl. It then lunged at Kai with gaping jaws; Kai braced himself and attacked Dragoon with an inferno. It flared outward and burned everything in that direction. Tyson met the fire head on and was forced to the ground, covered in burns.

"A-ah...ow" Tyson winced.

"No!" Max yelled.

Tyson forced himself to stand, but another attack was headed his way. Max ran towards Tyson, yelling for Draciel to cover him. Draciel couldn't move fast enough to protect himself, Max, and Tyson. As Kai unleashed another powerful attack; Draciel charged at him, and Kai met the bluntness of Draciel's shield.

After making contact Draciel was forced back from the powerful flame attack. He hit the ground and rolled a few feet away, dropping his shield.

"Tyson-aah!" Max got hit by shockwaves and flew at Tyson, colliding with him.

In the chaos Mariam saw her chance and ordered Sharkrash to attack Kai before he recovered.

Sharkrash dove into the ground and moved closer to Kai at an incredible speed, then from underneath him the rows of teeth appeared as Sharkrash jumped up into the air. As the shark's body passed through Kai he fell to his knees, smoke swirling around him and only the white's of his eyes visible. In Sharkrash's jaws was a black phoenix screeching in pain. A chain made out of flames attached to it's chest was shackled to Kai.

"What's that...?" Tyson said weakly as Max got off him.

Max was in awe as he watched the shark viciously shake it's head with the phoenix in it's jaws. The pheonix was screeching in pain, but Kai let out a yell of anguish. Blood became visible as it poured from his chest, staining his clothes and puddling onto the ground.

"Oh...oh my god..."Max said horrified.

Mariam hadn't noticed what they were distracted by, her only concern was to destroy such an evil bit-beast. It was something unnatural, something that should have never been created...and she should have never let it fall into Boris' hands.

"Mariam!" Tyson yelled, "Stop! Kai's hurt!"

"This is crazy...how could something like this even happen?"He shook his head, "Draciel! I need you to-"

That was when Max noticed Draciel had been hurt. His eyes widened at Draciel trying his best to get off the ground, but the slightest movement caused him great pain.

"No, nevermind, stay down. Stay DOWN Draciel!" Max cried.

"Keep up the attack Sharkrash!" Mariam cheered.

"Mariam!" Tyson growled, pushing Max to the side and moving towards his blade. He sent Dragoon colliding into Sharkrash, forcing him to release Black Dranzer. Mariam gasped and glared at Tyson.

"What are you doing?! This is our chance!" She spat.

"It's hurting Kai!"

"I..."She glanced over to Kai who still sat on his knees, his back arched and his eyes towards the sky. He was stiff as the blood poured from him. They witnessed Black Dranzer return to Kai's body as it convulsed before the eyes turned black. Kai then stood, and sent a whirlwind of fire howling towards Mariam.

Her eyes widened as she tried to dodge it, but the fire hit her and propelled her back into the wreckage. Sharkrash let out a cry of pain and returned to the beyblade as it stopped spinning and burst into pieces.

Tyson gritted his teeth as he tried to figure out how he could possibly stop Kai without hurting him. He couldn't attack him directly, he couldn't attack Black Dranzer...what was there to do?

"Darkness..." They all heard a voice whisper.

Everything became dark around them. Kai shot out fire in an attempt to see but couldn't. The fire wouldn't illuminate anything. Max widened his eyes in an attempt to see.

" Tyson? Where are you?" He whispered, reaching out into the darkness.

"Whoa!"Daichi tripped over something and fell flat on his face.

"Ow!" Tyson yelled.

"Tyson! I found you!"Daichi yelled in excitement.

"Daichi, you're here?"Max blinked, "I can't see anything."

"Tyson? Max?" Ray's voice was next.

"This looks bad..."Robert's voice joined.

"Hehe...looks? I can't see anything." Enrique laughed a little.

"Wait how many of you guys are here...?"Tyson asked.

A loud screech pierced the darkness, it sounded like Black Dranzer again. No one could see anything however, they only heard the screeching. Tyson became worried, knowing that if Black Dranzer was hurt, Kai's body would suffer as well.

* * *

><p><em>"You left me Kai..."Wyatt said.<em>

_Kai was broken down now. He sat on his knees with his hands over his ears, trying to drown it out. All he could do was apologize until his throat was numb._

_"Well now...this isn't the Kai I remember..." A different voice spoke._

_Kai opened his eyes and weakly looked up._

_"You...I...I know you."_

_"It's been a very long time." Sanguinex appeared before Kai with a faint smile._

_"Listen to me Kai. Black Dranzer is controlling your body. You have to fight back, this is just an illusion. It's how he takes control. He's feeding off you."_

_"Feeding? I was always able to control Black Dranzer in the past..."Kai frowned, stepping back from Sanguinex._

_"That was through a beyblade and the only way Black Dranzer could enter the world. His power would...corrupt other users. You were the only one with the will to wield him. However...you changed. Whatever that man plans to do, Black Dranzer was released from it's bit and now wishes to take control of you. He can only do that by controlling your will. He knows you, and knows what to use against you to keep you from fighting back. All your regrets, your sorrows, everything."_

_"Wait. If I'm just being controlled...how are you here?! How do I know you're not another illusion?!"Kai snapped._

_"I never did anything to you that would warrant regret or sorrow did I?" Sanguinex pondered._

_Kai didn't say anything. He didn't have any horrible memories of the Dark Bladers, that was true. They were all 'monsters' but none were tied to him personally or emotionally._

_"The darkness and I are brethren...I know it well. Black Dranzer cannot hide from me, nor can he fool me." Sanguinex smirked proudly._

_Kai frowned at Sanguinex, but felt he was his only salvation at this point. Once he appeared, the voices had stopped...but Kai could feel the burning sensations on his skin. Black Dranzer was fighting for control again. Kai winced and held his head again._

_"You need to accept your pain Kai. You can't run from yourself anymore. You have no choice but to face it now. If you want to win...You'll have to fight. That's a concept you can understand...can't you?"Sanguinex faded into the darkness, and Kai was left alone again._

_Kai looked around the darkspace and sighed. He couldn't fight against Wyatt, he knew that. How could he ever fight Wyatt._

_"No...Wyatt's gone...it's not Wyatt." Kai closed his eyes as the laughter returned. He winced in pain as Wyatt's deranged laughter echoed around him._

_"Wyatt is gone. I let him down. He..."Kai thought back to the moment he held Wyatt in his arms._

_Wyatt had apologized to Kai for everything, and was amazed that the bladebreakers weren't angry at him. Wyatt never blamed Kai, not once. That fact hurt him, but he accepted it. He didn't want to let Wyatt down anymore. He knew he hadn't exactly honored his death. When was the last time he even visited his grave?_

_"I am sorry Wyatt..."_

_He thought next of his father and grandfather. He had been so angry at his father for leaving for beyblading, but he was beginning to understand. Kai loved beyblading as well. It wasn't something he just did for fame or for money, he enjoyed the game. Above all else, he enjoyed battling with Tyson, because Tyson could challenge him. It was the thrill of the fight and how he could get so emersed in a battle with his former teammate. His father loved beyblading. There had to have been something in his life that compelled him to leave._

_Kai had held onto that feeling of rejection for so long, the anger, the bitterness, but now he was ready to understand. Then there was a matter of Voltaire. Kai wasn't quite ready to forgive him yet. Voltaire had used Kai, and had been the one that forced his father to choose. Kai knew deep down he was more like his grandfather than he was like his father._

_The two-tone haired blader had wanted power, which is why he turned to Black Dranzer in the first place. Kai had seen no worth in beyblading unless he could win...but that changed once he met Tyson and the other bladebreakers. Even the Blitzkrieg Boys, who had learned the same lessons at the Abbey, played for the fun of it...the victory was just a bonus._

_Kai loved the thrill of the battle, he loved a victory he knew he deserved. It was true he came along way from crushing kid's beyblades._

_"I'm done with Black Dranzer...I don't need him." He said to himself._

* * *

><p>The darkness faded in the real world and Sanguinex appeared. Tyson blinked when he saw the cloaked figure, and Daichi was relieved he didn't actually go blind. Max was surprised to see him.<p>

"How did you get here?" Robert asked.

Sanguinex only smirked and readied his beyblade.

"I have my ways..." He pulled the ripcord and launched his beyblade, calling on his bit-beast.

"Wait! If you hurt Kai then-"

"I know what I'm doing Tyson. We won't let that man's experiments continue..."

Tyson was puzzled, but didn't have the time to ask questions.

"Now's our chance!" Robert yelled and launched his beyblade with the rest of his team and the group that had followed.

"Strata Dragoon!" Daichi yelled, "Great cutter!"

Rick grabbed Max's shoulder and pushed him back to the group, "You stay there and keep Mr. D company..."he smirked.

"Rick..."Max looked up at him as Rick walked forward.

Kai sent out waves and waves of fire. It collided with the bit-beasts who had collected to fight against Kai.

"Griffolyon! Wing attack!"Robert yelled.

The plan was to just keep Kai fighting. Once Black Dranzer was weak enough, they'd draw him out and Sanguinex would sever Black Dranzer's hold on Kai. It wasn't an easy task, but with The Majestic's their it was a lot easier. Joseph also seemed to know what he was doing.

Griffolyon led the charge of bit-beasts towards Kai. Mr. Dickenson was in awe as he watched all the beybladers from different teams work together. Griffolyon took the first attack, letting the others ambush Black Dranzer's power.

Shockwaves were sent out at the collisions and the anguish screams of the beasts were heard throughout the island.

"Hang in there!" Johnny yelled. Salamalyon combined it's attack with Griffolyon.

"Cat bite!" Mariah yelled, Gallux appeared and leaped towards her target.

Many of the bit-beasts were getting burned by the fire, and Joseph tried to stay out of the main battle mostly. He planned to seal Black Dranzer as soon as he could, as a result that made him want to keep his bit-beast safe.

Max watched the battle and bit his lip.

Johnny fell to his knees as Salamalyon took the brunt of the attack.

"It's because they're using beyblades...?" Max asked himself.

He had beybladed long enough to know he got tired when Draciel was tired, but when Draciel had his own body the blonde hadn't felt anything like that. It was as if they were separate beings instead of one.

"Keep it up kids!" Mr. Dickenson yelled, "You can do it!"

Max's eyes looked over at Draciel, whose body laid motionless now. Max thought of running over to him, but that would put him in the direct line of fire. It was then he felt Mr. Dickenson put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Max...We will all get through this."

A great inferno raged around them, the heat making them sweat and the fumes making it difficult to breath. Still they all stood together, watching their bit-beasts do something they had never seen before. It was as if the beasts were actually in front of them, like they had materialized in the real world. All the beasts were standing and protecting their masters, as well as fighting off Black Dranzer's attacks.

"We have to get Kai out of there!" Tyson yelled.

"Tala's Novae Rog would be reaaaally handy right about now!" Daichi was trying to hold his ground.

Max knew they needed an attack like Mariam's. It had to be one that could go through Kai's body.

"Joseph! Attack Kai directly!" Max yelled, "Now! Do it NOW!"

Joseph glanced back at Max like he was insane, but upon seeing the blonde's expression, nodded and sent Vanishing Moot charging at Kai head on.

The elephant like creature bursted through Kai, causing his body to jerk, but Back Dranzer had been forced out.

* * *

><p>Dunga had finally infiltrated Boris' base. He was met with resistance but it wasn't anything he couldn't take care of. Soon the guards had stopped, which Dunga found strange, but he wasn't complaining.<p>

"Boris is either stupid or I should be worried." He said to himself as he walked, trying to locate a security room or something. He was going to shut down the whole base.

The lights flickered before turning off, leaving Dunga in darkness. He heard a series of panicked yells and screams in the distance. When the lights turned on he saw scientists scrambling down the hallway towards him.

"Heh, more of them-"Dunga began to say but they all ran past him. Dunga pressed against the wall to let them all scramble by and he headed in the very direction they were running from, figuring something would be there he needed to handle.

"Come back here you idiots!"Boris yelled, "None of that is real!"

"What isn't real?" A voice said. Boris whipped around to see Cenotaph staring him down.

"Aaaah!"Boris yelled and fell back. He stumbled backwards and bumped into Lupinex who grinned down at him with sharp teeth.

Boris didn't have time to process it. All he knew was he saw a mummy and a werewolf randomly appear infront of him. He yelled and got up to run, but crashed into Zomb and hit the ground again, bumping his head and passing out.

"Hehehehe"Lupinex laughed to himself, "Gets them everytime."

Zomb looked down at Boris and tilted his head at him.

"Let's get to the labs next..."Cenotaph looked at his two teammates, who nodded.

Dunga rushed down the halls and looked in every room he found. He still had three more rooms to look into when a door slowly creaked open by itself. Dunga took a minute and just stared at the door before creeping towards it. He peeked in carefully and saw Boris passed out on the floor, but no one else. He also didn't see anyone exit the room either.

Dunga saw the control panel and smirked. He didn't ask questions he just rushed over to it and looked for a self-destruct button. Naturally, he could'nt tell which one was which, so he began touching random buttons. When he wasn't sure if they were doing anything, he pounded his fist down onto it and sparks flew everywhere.

"Initiating lockdown"A mechanical voice said over the intercom.

"Oh ok...so that did something." Dunga nodded and kicked at the computers, not wanting to leave anything left.

Something fast flew by the door and Dunga felt a gush of hot air. He turned around quickly to see flames engulfing the door as the smell of burnt wood hit his nostrils.

"Whoa!" Dunga yelled, thinking he had been the cause of it. Dunga saw another door and rushed towards it, but stopped and looked back at Boris; then went over and pulled him by the arms out the door.

"This. Doesn't. Mean. I. Like. You." Dunga grunted as he pulled Boris' body out the door.

* * *

><p>"Wither..." Cenotaph ordered. He used his bit-beast to destroy everything in one lab, while his teammates attacked various parts of the base. The flames that had started were spreading, and an alarm went off telling them there was a fire.<p>

"We leave nothing left!" Lupinex snarled; tearing through files.

"Nothing." Zomb repeated as he crushed various equipment in a different wing of the base.

* * *

><p>"It's cold..."Kenny shivered.<p>

"She's back!" Hilary yelled.

In the woods they saw Shiva rush at them. Garland and Spencer stood in front of the others protectively, ready for a fight.

They saw a beaming light come towards them that Shiva deflected for them. Shiva then stood in front of them and looked at an animal made completely out of light. It looked like a deer, but had a much bigger body like an Elk. It's antlers spiraled around each other in beautiful arrays and looked like old branches from a tree. The fur was pure white, and she wore a similar crown to Wolborg.

"Enough sister." Shiva spoke, her voice was so soft, so comforting.

Spencer and Garland exchanged looks worriedly before looking back at Shiva. Bryan began to stand up cautiously his eyes darting from Shiva to Artemis.

"You are now free. You can leave." Shiva told her. "You will not take Tala's body from him. He's mine."

The deer paced in front of her, staring her directly into her eyes. The ocean's water had stilled with frost, and the atmosphere became very cold. Artemis made a sound, and seemed to be able to communicate with Shiva.

"You will go, and I...I will stay." Shiva told her.

Artemis stomped her feet in protest.

"I will stay." Shiva repeated.

Artemis snorted and waved her head, glowing brighter than before.

"My freedom was stolen from me a long time ago...but I am not caged any longer. I will stay, because I want to. Many of the others...they want to stay. These humans, these creatures, they are very strange." Shiva took a moment, "However...they are as much a past of us as we are of each other. When we fight...it is together."

Artemis made a gruff sound as she tore up the dirt beneath her.

"It is my choice. Just like many others. We have new purpose...and the harvesting of our kind ends with Boris."

Artemis huffed and stared into Shiva's eyes for a long while. With a few minutes, Artemis hesitantly backed up into the forest, disappearing with a beam of light.

Shiva looked up at the sky as if she could see Artemis there, then she turned around. Spencer, Garland, and Bryan frowned and stood in front of Tala protectively. She brought her hand up and encased their feet in ice.

"Ahg!" Bryan yelled and tried to pull his feet free. Shiva walked around them over to Tala, but this time Hilary blocked her path.

"W-wait...uhm..Ms. Bit-beast-uhm Shiva. What are you going to do?" She demanded.

"Not Shiva." Shiva shook her head and pushed her to the ground. She kneeled behind Tala's head and touched his forehead. His complexion changed color, and the markings on him disappeared. In that instant he appeared to be human. Shiva smiled and closed her eyes.

"You finally remembered..."Shiva stood up and looked towards the sky. Her body froze to solid ice, and then bursted into a thousand small ice shards. The temperature returned to normal, and the ice holding the three boys had also shattered.

Tala woke up in a panic, "Stay away from me!" he yelled.

"Tala! Tala, hey it's fine!" Bryan grabbed his shoulders and shook him slightly, "Look at me. It's fine. It's me."

Tala looked at him but still looked panicked; he eventually calmed down and sighed in relief.

"I thought...I thought that..."He ran his fingers through his hair in distress.

"It doesn't matter..."

"Welcome back!" Hilary smiled cheerfully.

"You look terrible." Spencer kneeled beside him with a smirk, but it disappeared when Bryan glared at him.

"Tala...?"Garland kneeled on the other side of him.

Tala had his head in his hand and only sighed, not making eye contact with any other them, and was being extremely quiet. They all looked at each other and decided it was better not to hound him with questions and give him time to recover.

* * *

><p>Once Black Dranzer was out of Kai's body, Sanguinex ordered his bit-beast to "lacerate."<p>

When that ordered was given, the vampire bat appeared and attacked the chain connecting Kai and the dark pheonix. It shattered apart, making Kai scream and Black Dranzer screech.

"Now! Attack!" Robert shouted.

"Unicolyon, tremor attack!" Oliver shouted.

Enrique stood beside Oliver and shouted for his two headed beast to attack Black Dranzer. At that time, everyone else unleashed their attack. The island shook uncontrollably as each attack was released at once. The horde of beasts jumped at the phoenix, who screeched in pain as it tried to fight off all of them at once. Black Dranzer was strong, but this wasn't just a team he was fighting. Griffolyon, Unicorlyon, Salamalyon, and Amphilyon were in the front lines, taking the brunt of the hits.

Dragoon and Daichi combined their attacks as giant tornados swirled around and around, sucking up all the fire in their wake. The rest of the bit-beasts all attacked at once, then suddenly there was a flash of heat and a bright flash. The force pushed all of them back and each one had made a harsh landing on the rocks. Each and every blader laid unconscious from the force, but they had all saw it. Dranzer had appeared out of nowhere from the forest and delivered the finishing blow on Black Dranzer, destroying him for good.

It didn't take long before they woke up. Mr. Dickenson painfully sat up and Max rushed to his side quickly.

"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.

"Yes Max, erm, thank you..."

The others came too and pulled themselves up, looking around in confusion. The trees were all cut down and destroyed. It looked as though a bomb had gone off in the area with how everything was scorched, but the land and remnants of the trees had deep scratches in them from some of the other bit-beasts.

Dranzer was still in the sky, but after a moment faded.

"Dranzer..." Tyson smiled a little, but then reality hit him. "Kai!" He yelled and rushed over to his teammate who was just waking up.

"Man...that was..." Johnny rubbed his head as he stood up.

"I guess that means that crazy birds gone then?" Enrique asked.

"Draciel!" Max raced over to where Draciel's body was, but all that remained was a faceless manikin with a puddle of water under it.

A loud fog horn sounded, and everyone looked towards that direction in shock. The boat had arrived! They hadn't noticed how much time had passed...actually maybe it hadn't been that long at all. The battle was intense, but did it really happen that long or that quick? No one could say.

* * *

><p>Dunga pulled himself up and wiped blood from his cheek. The forced had been so strong it had reached to where he was, and the base had been toppled from it too.<p>

Boris was regaining his senses and peeked at Dunga with one eye. While Dunga was looking towards the horizon, Boris began to crawl away. The large blader heard the shuffling of the dirt and turned around and planted his boot in the middle of Boris' back.

"Where do you think YOU'RE going!" Dunga snapped.

* * *

><p><strong>I am planning to expand Kai's character. He's got alot of baggage that is never really explored in the anime. He's mad as his dad, but still loves him, he's very very angry at Voltaire. All of Kai's insecurities are always shoved to the side as "wanting to defeat Tyson" when I think Kai can be very interesting. One of the biggest horrors in his life was what happened to Wyatt. In the Japanese version Wyatt died in Kai's arms, and Kai is shown feeling guilt over it. <strong>

**Then...it completely disappears and it's as if Wyatt never existed. I think that that incident would have made Kai re-evaluate how he treats those around him. V-force Kai is also my favorite version of Kai. He's more of a person who is shown to have in-depth emotions. **

**I'm digging deep for Kai here. So if some of you think Kai is OOC...that's the point. Kai is facing nightmares from the past, and if you rewatch all the seasons you will see how Kai reacts when he's afraid. Kai even cries in first season and in V-force. He's a big softie underneath his jerk-ishness.**

**And as for The Dark Bladers...what can I say they're freaking enigmas. I don't think this story would be complete if I didn't have the very underrated Dark Bladers in it. I want to keep their theme of creepiness and supernatural thing going on too. The Dark Bladers are more ignored in the series than The Majestics and Blitzkrieg Boys combined. **

**Also, I wanted to keep this feeling like the show. The show had themes of friendship and some corniness in it. It's not beyblade unless there's corniness. So I splashed in a tad bit of that too. **

**Anyway I hope this chapter didn't disappoint you! It was rather emotional for me writing it. **


	26. What's wrong?

**Guess who finally updated?! MEEEEEE! Don't worry guys. I know it's long between each chapter but I have NO intentions of giving up on this. It IS going to be finished. Now it's more about the personal lives of Kai and Tala and boy are things about to get wild. I hope you enjoy, and I always appreciate a review if you've got time. **

* * *

><p>It was dark now. Kai felt motion around him, heard the muffled sound of voices, and distinctly felt something brush across his skin. The motion was similar to being in the ocean, submerged just beneath the surface, neither sinking nor rises but able to feel the waves. Wyatt's laughter was gone, but that soon didn't matter, his memories were blurring.<p>

In the darkness there were countless images playing like a movie with no plot, no story, just random flashes. Kai couldn't decipher it, no matter how hard he tried. Kai knew loneliness, and became bitter at the world through his treatment at the Abbey and by his grandfather; but this feeling was something different. He had never felt so hopeless before. There were plenty of times Kai felt low, but this feeling was the worst he'd ever experienced.

He felt a pain go through his head as a flooding feeling consumed him. When he slowly opened his eyes; he saw white before his blurry vision came into focus,and he realized he was in a hospital bed.

Kai frowned and brought his hand up to his head, wincing. His memory was just one huge blank. Slowly he sat up, the room spun, forcing him to lie back down.

"Oh. You're up." A nurse smiled as she walked into the room. She checked the machines before excusing herself and leaving the room, coming back with the doctor. The doctor checked Kai's eyes and reflexes while informing him that he'd been in a coma for quite some time.

"How long was I asleep?" Kai asked.

"Several months. It'll be 5 month's this friday. But...you don't seem to have any adverse effects. That's good. I'm a bit surprised you recovered so quickly…" the doctor pondered.

Kai didn't respond, but his eyes had widened. Five months?! He could hardly believe such time passed.

The doctor talked about how some people had come in to visit him, how worried they all were about him. Even his fans had come. In the corner of the room was a pile of gifts. To be honest, he wasn't at all interested in them. He was still in shock, still thinking deeply about the darkness he encountered, and about Wyatt.

Why had it all come back so vividly? Why did these memories plague him?

"Uhm, another thing…"the doctor said, "A Mr. Tala Valkov is your emergency contact, but…"

Upon hearing Tala's name, Kai became attentive to the doctor's words. But what? He thought. He vaguely remembered what happened to Tala on the island, where was he now? Was he in the hospital too?

"There seems to be a complication-"

"What is it?!" Kai snapped, wanting the doctor to spit it out.

"There was a man here claiming to be your father. There was an altercation between that redhead and that man."

"Altercation…?My...father..."

"The redhead said his name was Tala, who is your contact, also a Mr. Dickenson was here for you. Would you like me to call him?"

"He said he was my father...are you sure he said he was my father? Not my grandfather?" Kai demanded.

"Yes, sir. He left us his information…"the doctor shifted through his papers, "Susumu Hiwatari. We have a copy of his driver's license."

"That's alot of security for a hospital…" Kai said suspiciously.

"You're under high security. You and your friends are still under witness protection until a conviction."

Kai didn't say anything but he listened. His father had been there? There were so many questions buzzing around in his mind, but ultimately he told the doctor not to let anyone in to see him.

He looked out the window at the clear blue sky of Moscow. _Is this still a dream…?_

* * *

><p>Back at the Blitzkrieg Boys home base, Tala stood at the stove stirring a large pot of soup. His face had a cold expression as he stared into space.<p>

"Tala…?" Ian asked, "Are you doing okay?"

Tala didn't answer, nor did he even acknowledge Ian.

Ian frowned, "TALA!" he yelled.

The shout panicked him. The redhead jumped from the scare, dropping the ladle on the counter. Memories of his father standing over him, bottle in hand, as Tala laid on the floor. His mother called out for him, fearful of the damage being inflicted.

Breaking out in a cold sweat he gripped the edge of the counter, his knuckles cracking.

Ian pulled his eyebrows together, never seeing Tala lose his cool in that way before. He spent a large portion of his life with Tala and the rest of the team, and not once had Tala ever looked so anxious and afraid before.

"Maybe...you should go lay down for a while."

Tala bit his lip as he swallowed the lump in his throat, "I-I'm fine." he picked up the ladle and went back to tending the soup; attempting to regain his composure.

"Oh, eheh…"Ian laughed sarcastically, "That's why you jumped?"

"You shouted."

"You're shaking."

"I'm not-!" Tala set the ladle down and clenched his fists at his side "I'm not shaking..."

Even though he was fighting it, Ian could see Tala trembling clearly.

"I get your whole macho, tough guy act but you're not fooling any of us."

Tala ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, "No one asked you…"he turned the stove off and watched past Ian, mumbling that dinner was ready.

Ian frowned after Tala, though he wasn't frowning out of anger persay; Ian was worried about Tala who kept denying that anything was wrong. It obviously wasn't, but Tala wasn't about to appear weak in front of his team. It didn't really matter, no one in the Blitzkriegs thought he was a weakling. They were all worried about him. Their leader hadn't been himself since he got out of the hospital a few months ago.

Tala walked upstairs and turned to go into his room. As his hand reached for the doorknob he heard another voice.

"Something wrong?" Bryan asked.

Tala gritted his teeth, "I swear if one more person asks me if something's wrong I'm going to set the house on fire…"

"...Huh….?"

Tala closed the door before Bryan could even retort. He left him standing in the hallway looking confused. The falcon sighed and walked to Tala's door, placing his hand on it.

"Tala…"Bryan spoke up, but he couldn't find the right words to say. After standing there in silence, he only sighed and went downstairs to join Ian.

* * *

><p>The redhead sat at his desk, going through his computer. His eye wandered to where the picture of his parents used to be, and he felt his heart sink. He had lost it on the island.<p>

The picture was the last he had of his parents, it was a way he could see their face everyday. Specifically, he could always view his mother's smile, and see his father as the proud soldier he once was.

The memories were so fuzzy of the happiness he knew at home. Tala laid his head on the table, buried in his arms as the pain ripped his heart apart. He missed them. In his dream, he had his parents back, but as a result he never became a beyblader. The redhead felt disgusted at the idea he owed Boris something, but it seemed he did.

He gritted his teeth together, not wanting to admit or think about how Boris had saved him from the cold streets.

_It was for himself...not for me. I was easily cast aside…_

His hatred for Boris had eased the pain of his lost. In the Abbey, he had something to work towards. As long as he kept winning, he had a future. Tala had a warm bed, he had food, and was given clean clothes, the constant training day after day distracted him from the pain of his past.

Even after he realized he was being used, the anger for Boris was something he could focus on. Perhaps it wasn't Boris who had saved him, but beyblading that did. At that thought, he remembered Wolborg. Artemis had called her "Shiva" which made him ask many more questions.

It was no secret Wolborg was artificially created, but...who was Shiva? Where had she gone?

Tala let out a heavy sigh as he realized not only the picture of his parents was lost forever, but his beyblade shattered, and his bit-beast long gone. It had been months, and even after building a new blade she hadn't returned.

It had been such a long time since Tala felt so lonely. All his old memories came flooding back. His father's beatings, his mother's weeping, and a dream of what could have been but never was. Happy memories of his parents that were so far they seemed non-existent.

Then there was the matter of seeing Kai's father in the hospital, which brought up a completely different matter. It was important he speak with Kai immediately.

Tala's body tensed as he attempted to stand from his desk, but he didn't move even though his muscles prepared for it.

_Tomorrow..._He thought._ I'll go tomorrow…_

His icy eyes slowly closed as he let out a heavy sigh. He must have dozed off, because when he awoke it was now night. Tala thought he had heard his bedroom door open earlier, and there was a bowl of soup on his desk beside him. The soup was still warm; so it was recently brought to him.

Tala rubbed his face and leaned on his elbow. His teammates were worried about him. They didn't know what they could do to make him feel better, or even what they should do. No one mentioned Boris or what had happened on the island. Bryan in particular felt immense guilt at losing Tala's family photo somewhere in the wreckage. It made things a bit difficult for him to face Tala head-on.

Since they weren't really talking, Bryan didn't know if Tala was angry with him or not. There were a lot of things he wanted to say. The redhead slowly pulled the bowl towards him and started to eat quietly. He hardly had an appetite, but he ate what he could.

Later on, Bryan had come up to check on him.

"Tala?" He cautiously entered the redhead's room.

Tala was sitting hunched over in his computer chair, playing solitaire on the computer. He got lost in the cards as he tried to win the game. Bryan shifted nervously and looked around Tala's room before walking up behind him.

"Tala?" Bryan said again, placing a hand on Tala's shoulder.

The redhead shot up from his chair in a panic, grabbed Bryan's wrist and twisted it towards Bryan, forcing his elbow to bend and Bryan fall to the floor onto his knees.

"Tala, TALA! Ow!" He yelled.

"Bryan…" The redhead hastily let him go, "Uh...Sorry about that…"

The falcon stood up, gingerly rubbing his wrist as he worriedly looked at Tala.

In a moment, Tala's concerned turned to anger.

"Don't sneak up on me like that."

"Sneak up?! I called you at least twice!" Bryan looked offended.

"I'm sure I would have heard you if you did…"

"I did!" he frowned.

Tala rubbed the back of his neck, "sorry…"

"Yeah….Anyway,"Bryan wanted to change the subject, "are you alright."

"Would people stop asking me that?!"

"We're worried, everyone's worried! Mr. Dickenson keeps asking about you, our teachers are worried, the principal's worried-everyone. Even Garland-"

Tala shot him an icy stare, making Bryan fall silent for a second.

"There's just people who are worried about you-"

"You're worried huh? I'm alright. There. Done worrying yet? Put it on a billboard! 'Tala is alright' let them all know!"Tala snapped.

"Tala...I-"

"What? What do you expect me to say Bryan?! Oh, I just got off this island where a madman forced us to fight our bit-beasts, and almost killed us, that this all somehow happened right under the BBA's nose and we have no idea where Voltaire is! Kai's in the hospital, none of us know if Boris will just be able to weasel his way out of these charges like he did last time, I was forced to live in some alternate...dream universe thing, to the point I don't even know if it happened or not! Yes. Bryan. I'm. Just. FINE!"

Bryan put his hands up in defense to try and calm Tala.

"I get it...I just meant that-well you don't need to avoid us."

"Oh, for…"Tala turned away, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Hey I get your whole macho thing, but are you forgetting who I am?" Bryan frowned, "remember me? Your best friend? We lived on the streets together?"

"And what's your point?" Tala turned to face him, hands on hips.

"Stop acting like you're alone. We're not just your teammates, we're your friends too. If you want to talk or-or whatever we're all here."

"This isn't your problem, just let me be."

"Oh...'this isn't your problem' are you kidding me?"

The redhead heaved a heavy sigh and sat back in his chair. Bryan was frowning, but then shook his head.

"I saw you there on the island. I don't know what it was like for you, but I know what it was like for me. I'm still losing sleep over it, and you...you're barely eating, you're not sleeping, I know you're not at your best right now. You don't need to try so hard to act tough just for the rest of us."

"We're done talking."

"Tala…"

"Bryan." The redhead looked up at him with eyes that sent shivers down Bryan's spine. In that moment, he felt something strange. It was a feeling he couldn't explain. The falcon gazed at him before averting his eyes.

"Fine, fine...just don't make us worry...at least talk to the others to let them know you're okay." Bryan turned and left.

Tala sat in his chair in silence for a few minutes before slowly turning back to his computer.

Bryan closed the door behind him as he left and walked to his room.

"Didn't go well?" Ian asked.

"No. No it didn't." Bryan shook his head.

"He just needs his space, Bryan." Spencer said.

"Were you guys seriously listening the entire time?"

"Mostly for your safety." Ian shrugged.

"Go to bed…"Bryan frowned.

Ian laughed a little but then looked at Tala's door with a worried look. Spencer was worried too, but he felt Tala would come around eventually, he just needed time to sort out his thoughts. As the oldest member, and second in command, he tried to keep the other two members in check while Tala kept to himself.

* * *

><p>The next day, Tala headed to the hospital to visit Kai. Once he got there he heard the most irritating voice.<p>

"Please let me see him? Please? I want to meet him, I've waited a long time!"

It was a girl's voice. Once Tala lifted his eyes from the ground he saw a man and a young girl. He recognized the man. It was Kai's father who he encountered just yesterday, but he didn't know who the girl was. She made him uneasy. Her hair was a deep red and kept short. She didn't look that old, maybe around 13 or 14.

"I'm sorry but Kai asked that we don't let anyone see him...no exceptions." The nurse said.

Tala frowned, "You've got to be kidding me…" he mumbled as he approached.

"But I…"the girl said.

Mr. Hiwatari placed his hand on her shoulder to console her.

"Miss. I'm the boy's father. I'd like to see him…"

"I'm sorry but...he made it very clear." The nurse said apologetically.

The girl looked up at her father with pleading eyes. A tall woman with long red hair came running up to them.

"Oh, oh Anya you mustn't run of like that!" the woman spoke with shortness of breath.

"It's alright. No harm done." Mr. Hiwatari replied and turned to the nurse. He politely asked her to call him if Kai were to change his mind, which the nurse nodded that if circumstances changed she would call; now that they had verified his identity.

Tala stood in the hallway, stunned at the sight just feet in front of him. The woman sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, shaking her head at the girl. Dizziness soon came over him as his vision faded, and the room felt like it was spinning.

"Well, dear...let's head out then…" Mr. Hiwatari took the woman's hand.

"It's been so long since I've been back here…" the woman confessed.

_M-mom_...Tala thought just before losing consciousness.

"Sir?" A nearby nurse saw him collapse.

"Lana! We need help here!" She yelled.

The commotion caught the family of three's attention as they turned around. The redheaded woman's eyes widened as she saw the collapsed boy.

"Tala!" She exclaimed.

* * *

><p><strong>Some explanations. Tala's mother left him when he was very young, since the abuse got so bad. You can read this on Takao Aoki's site. He meant to include Tala's backstory in the Manga but it was considered too adult so it was never inserted. <strong>

**I wanted to fool around with the idea of where his mother went and what happened to her? Also, Kai's father is a bit of a mystery. As far as I know, he travels. So I wanted to give him his own story of what he did in those years since he left Voltaire and headed out alone. Hope you enjoyed.**


	27. Can't go on

**Sorry for the lack of updates as usual. But here is the update, and as I said before, I will continue this until it is finished. I am NOT giving up on this fanfic. So while the wait between chapters is long, I will always, always update. Just a few more chapters to go before the end of this. I hope you will all stick with me until the end!**

**Thank you for all of your support so far.**

* * *

><p>A murmur of voices was all he heard at first, then white was all he saw before both his hearing and vision returned to him. A white ceiling…<p>

White walls, white sheets, white, white, white. Tala frowned as he pulled himself up and looked around. How tired he was getting of hospital rooms, the smell, the sounds, the colors; all more daunting than they were comforting.

"Oh, you're awake." a woman's voice said cheerful.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of motion, peering over to see a tall woman with wavy red hair. He knew this woman; his mother, the one he watched disappear into the falling snow.

"I can't believe it's you. Oh my god, this is...this is…"tears appeared in her eyes as she approached him, arms outstretched, ready to scoop him into a warm hug. In that instance he panicked. No, she mustn't touch him.

"Get away!" Tala snapped, slapping her hands from him.

"Honey, I-"

"Don't call me that!" he rose from his bed, his posture hostile, ready to slap her her arms away again. His reaction had startled her but it was foolish to think she could walk out of his life and surprise him in such a way. A random encounter at the hospital for her husband's son.

"I just want-"

"I don't care what you want." Tala's voice switched to a calm, but venomous tone. His icy eyes meeting her as he spoke, "now get out…"

"Honey-"

"OUT." He pointed to the door.

"I…"She began to say, but he quickly walked away from her and into the bathroom; refusing to listen.

Natasha stood quietly staring at the closed door. Sorrowfully her gaze shifted to the ground as she walked out of the room, warm tears stinging her eyes.

"Mama!" the young girl smiled, but her expression faded to concern at seeing her mother's expression.

"What happened…?"

"He...well, it's to be expected." She shrugged.

"Ah...can't be helped. Why did you never tell me you had a son?" Susumu questioned.

"I…-let's discuss this later."

"Hm…"he glanced down at his daughter who looked up at them curiously, "yes, you're right." he agreed with Natasha.

* * *

><p>Tala opened the door and peered out into the room. Empty. Good, that was good. Relief swelled up in his stomach as the redhead exited the bathroom and paced the floor. Mind reeling, palms sweating, heart racing, his mother was here.<p>

"What do I do…"he sighed and turned to the window. Sighing, he laid a hand against the window and leaned into it. In the courtyard he spotted a figure with spiky hair and wearing hospital clothes. The redhead quirked a brow. Kai was making his way to the parking lot. _He's breaking out…_He thought.

Without hesitation, Tala pulled open the window and jumped into the grass below. Anything was a suitable distraction from what awaited him in the hallway. He followed Kai loosely, memorizing every turn of the street, every alley Kai took.

Eventually Kai stopped and stood there.

"You're following me again...What do you want?"

Tala sighed and showed himself, seeing no point in hiding any longer.

"You snuck out of the hospital."

"I hate hospitals."

Tala didn't say anything and looked over Kai, not sure of what to say next, Kai really shouldn't have been up and around. Although, he'd be lying if he said this wasn't advantageous to himself. It gave Tala an excuse to sneak out as well, he was only looking out for a teammate after all.

"Where did you think you were going to go? You're not exactly discreet." The redhead approached Kai. The two-tone haired blader glanced at Tala, who seemed fine other than being more pale than usual.

"Let's go home then, I don't want to dally…"Tala sighed.

Kai, admittedly, was surprised. He was expecting a lecture or some of Tala's sarcasm, but there was none to be had. The redhead looked tired, not from lack of sleep, but it was there-written plainly across his face. An expression Kai had not gotten use to seeing, in fact, he couldn't recall Tala ever looking such a way before….granted they weren't extremely close, but the time they had spent together on the team was enough to know Tala had two base emotions, and this was not one of them.

"Hurry up." Tala glanced back at him.

"I'm not going back there, I want to be alone…" Kai stated coldly, beginning to walk passed Tala.

He had multiple things on his mind, and had no time to deal with Tala's problems too. If his leader insisted on following, Kai would lose him in an alley somewhere. His memories were still hazy, but Wyatt was clear in his mind. A place to sort out his thoughts, that's what Kai needed, and the hospital was no place to do that.

Tala tensed his jaw. He had always been respectful of Kai's solitary nature, only getting involved when he had reason to suspect any wrong-doings. As the two-toned blader past him Tala kicked his legs out from under him in an act of defiance. Kai lost his balance, fell to the concrete, and could only curse something under his breath. His body ached-but not long after his fall he felt hands on him, Tala pulling him up by the collar of his shirt and supporting Kai's weight as he began to walk.

Kai could only glare at him, and struggling was useless, Tala had more time to heal. As it stood now, Tala was in better physical condition and could easily overwhelm Kai-who shouldn't been up and around anyway.

"You can be alone in your room." The redhead sighed.

Tala helped Kai walk through the backway, avoiding people on the street the best they could, eventually they made it back home. Anyone they met on the street, Tala cleverly could lie his way out of virtually anything. It was easy once Kai fell unconscious and couldn't protest. Once they were back home, Kai could lock himself in his room, and be alone all he wanted. Tala had his own thoughts, his own things he needed to think about too; he also had much to talk to Kai about, such as what happened on the island.

Once through the door they began to head upstairs, and Ian had no idea what to make of them.

All he could do was chuckle, "you came here, like that?"

"Shut up. And there wasn't any other option at the time."

"Did you kidnap him or something?!"

"No-call it a rescue...for lack of a better word." Tala mumbled as he hauled Kai upstairs and into his room. There he dropped him on the bed, left, and closed the door behind him. Ian had followed up the stairs and gave Tala a puzzled look.

"What?" Tala snapped.

"Something's wrong, Tala. It has to be pretty bad if it has you looking this way."

"I have a lot on my mind, that's all." he brushed it off and walked into his room, closing the door behind him. Ian heard the distinct sound of a lock, and knew Tala truly wished to be alone.

The hospital was in quite a frenzy after Kai and Tala's disappearance. In all fairness, Tala had just fainted and could leave, but Kai was in no condition to be out of the hospital. The personnel worried something had happened, if he had been kidnapped by someone. It was only Mr. Dickenson who could calm things. Tala had made a call to him to inform him that there was no need to worry about Kai. It was just a mess to begin with, and Kai and Tala's actions weren't helping.

"Tala's been strange…"Ian sighed.

"I know…"Bryan nodded, leaning on his elbow.

Ian frowned at Bryan's aloofness, "we should do something."

"Mhm…"

"To help."

"He's always been like this, now that I think about it…"Bryan looked out the window of the living room. There was a layer of snow on the ground, but tained with mud and footprints instead of a pure white layer.

"He has not!"

"You haven't known him as long as I have. Tala and I were together before the Abbey. We've been pals a long time. Boris took advantage of all of us. You too Ian, where do you originally come from? None of us know much about each other before the Abbey. We were just chosen to be on the team because we were the best. Our life, our family, everything before Boris and beyblading."

Ian said nothing and only watched Bryan with a quirked brow. The falcon wasn't being quite himself either. Did any of that matter? Life before the Abbey? It wasn't like they could get it back. There was nothing for them, and at the time Boris was a savior. Rescued from the streets, from the cold embrace of Russia's streets. He did the same to BEGA. Boris knew how to manipulate, how to exploit your fears and desires. At that time, Tala and Bryan were at the mercy of the butcher and Boris promised food, shelter, and safety. And they were lied to. Fight. Everyday, all day, you must earn your right to stay. Earn your right to live. Only the strong survive, only the living are victorious. If you stopped winning, lost your nerve, refused to fight, you were tossed into the streets. A man who took in orphans, took in boys no one would miss.

But BEGA? They got what they deserved. That's what Bryan thought. They were wronged by the same man, but he lacked sympathy. Perhaps Crusher's case was more understandable, but everyone else? The want to be a champion like his family? Pathetic. A shallow girl wanting to be worshipped as an idol? More pathetic. And then Mystel, perhaps he was just bored. And then Brooklyn. Someone who joined because he had nothing better to do with his time.

It wasn't about being champion, not at first. It was about survival. Then, it became about being a champion, for survival. What did BEGA know of fear? What did they know of hardship, did they even have the right to complain? To be angry at Boris? They were lied to, they were not betrayed.

"Bryan? Uhm…" Ian started to say. As Bryan had been sitting there thinking, he had a scowl on his face, his fist clenched tight, his knuckles white.

Bryan's eyes turned to Ian. Before either could say anything, Kai limped down the stairs. The falcon shot a glare his way, while Ian didn't look too pleased to see him either. Kai couldn't care less what their opinions were.

"Cold out." Bryan mentioned to him, as Kai walked out the door. At least he had sense to get out of his hospital clothes. No one tried to stop him, they let him walk out the door. Once outside, Kai walked out into the barren field until the house was no longer visible.

"Grandfather…."He mumbled, limping along in the snow, "Wyatt…Tala"

Eventually, Kai reached the burnt up rock he had tested his blazing Gigs Tempest attack on. He stood there quietly, just staring. His body ached, his mind was reeling, where was he suppose to go, what was he suppose to do? And, where was Voltaire, and the commotion at the hospital...Kai looked down at his body, studied his hands, he had been out for a while and was in pain but he had no problem standing or walking on his own. His muscles didn't seem to be any weaker.

"How long was I out…?"he sighed and continued to walk, in a daze. Eventually he made it into Moscow's streets, and he walked hidden away from the others.

He took his time alone, he sat in an alley feeding some stray dogs. He heard the sound of beyblades crashing in the square, but had no wish to join them. When the thought of Voltaire entered his mind once again, his fist clenched and bones cracked.

"That's right…I still have to deal with that."Kai forced himself to stand. He needed to make a phone call. His grandfather, he needed to speak with him.

One phone call was all he needed. As he journeyed to find a phone, he soon learned there was no need. A heavy hand was placed on his shoulder.

"This way…"the hand squeezed his shoulder, caused him pain.

Kai glared, as he turned his head he was met with his grandfather's stern face.

"Come now, boy, you don't want to make a scene. In your condition."

"Let go."

In a steady jerk, Voltaire lead Kai away from people, away from the streets, and into the empty field of snow.

Every moment Kai tried to break free from his grasp, he felt more pain, at one moment he had tripped and fallen to the ground. Though his muscles had not atrophied, he had injuries, he had pain.

"You come here, after trying to kill your own grandson?"

"Heh, I did no such thing. You were to be taught discipline!" Voltaire grabbed Kai's jaw and forced him to look at him.

"You used to be so obedient!"

_How are you here?_ Kai thought._ You're not suppose to be here...You…_

"You are nothing Kai! You resemble your father, you resemble frivolity with no reward!" Voltaire threw him backwards. Kai coughed as he collided with the cold, hard, ground.

"You were to bring me the bit-beasts! You failed, Kai. You failed!"

"You were the one behind the island, you were the one that funded it...that disgusting project, just like the Abbey...you would do that to family!" Kai snarled.

"You are the one who has betrayed me!" Voltaire snapped, "and after all I've done for you!"

"What have you done?!" Kai's voice cracked, "you were never a grandfather to me. All you've ever done is use me! Kai do this, Kai do that, you never cared about what I wanted."

"I have given you everything, power, a roof over your head, money, you have everything most don't have! And...I have even transcended death."

Kai wearily pulled himself off the ground and shot him a cold stare.

"This was all for you, Kai…"Voltaire turned and looking out into the distance.

A boy appeared, just a silhouette, but as he neared Kai's eyes widened in disbelief. Wyatt came into view, but he looked different. Something wasn't right about him.

"No...this, how...but Wyatt…"Kai was speechless, felt faint, his body felt numb.

"Aw yes, you remember Wyatt. The young boy who couldn't handle Cyber Dranzer…"Voltaire placed his hand on Wyatt's head.

"This isn't possible. No, it...it's impossible. Wyatt can't…"

"You remember, now. This is for you Kai. Wyatt will help you. This has weared heavily on your mind, hasn't it?"

Kai's eyes began to sting as tears appeared, he dropped to his knees as he clutched his head in his hands.

"How...could you possibly know about Wyatt…?"

Wyatt's crazed face appeared vividly in Kai's mind as he held him. He just wanted Kai's attention, he just wanted that.

"He's someone else you failed, isn't he Kai? No matter, I'm such a loving grandfather, I can give him back."

"No there's...you, you knew? How could you...how did you?!"

"Power Kai. I have power to bring the dead back to life, and you? What power do you have? Tala nearly bested you on the island...you lost to Brooklyn, and you still can't beat Tyson. You failed."

"You...know...everything?"

"Yes, Kai. You will never escape me, you can't. I know where you are, what you're doing, at every moment of every day. That will never change. You think you're in control, but you do what I ALLOW you to do. There is no secret you can keep from me."

"No…"

"Kai!" Wyatt yelled at him, "stop being so pathetic!"

"Pathetic…? Yes….I-I am. I'm lonely, I'm miserable...I do horrible things to those who get close to me! I-"

"Kai!" Wyatt charged towards him.

"No, stay away!"Kai fell backwards, reaching for a rock or branch in the snow, anything, "stay back!"

Grabbing something he felt in the snow, he heaved a broken off branch at Wyatt.

"There you go again…"Voltaire shook his head, his voice disapproving.

"Wyatt…"

Blood sputtered from Wyatt's mouth, the stick had impaled him right through the throat. Kai could barely process what was happening. Blood, Wyatt's face was clearly in front of him, but soon it slipped away, as Wyatt fell to the snow. Crimson stained white as blood spread from Wyatt's throat.

"Kai!" Tala's voice cut through the air. When he blinked, it was dusk, Tala was holding Kai by the arms, his right hand gripping Kai's right wrist that had plunged the bark into his shoulder.

"Ta-Tala…" Kai's eyes were wide with shock and horror. He frantically looked around, he had barely made it 10 feet away from the house. Tala was kneeling in the snow, Bryan stood behind him with a perplexed expression.

"Calm down…"

"He needed to go back to the hospital Tala…"

Tala gritted his teeth. He knew it, he knew Kai shouldn't have left. He wasn't well, he clearly wasn't well. Kai's hand dropped the broken branch and he backed away.

"Kai…"Tala glanced at his shoulder. It hurt from being stabbed, but he was alright, he was surprised by being attacked by such an emotional Kai.

"Where...where's grandfather…?"

"Kai, you collapsed in front of the house and started screaming." Tala slowly rose, pulling Kai with him.

"Was it all...an illusion?" Kai looked down at the snow in disbelief.

The redhead glanced at Bryan, who walked over to try to help in anyway he could, although he wasn't sure what ways he could.

Tala felt sympathy for Kai. He deduced he must have had a hallucination, and Tala was well aware how confusing and painful it was to see something that was not there.

"It's okay. Your grandfather isn't here. We're in Russia. We're safe, back home." Tala did his best to comfort his teammate, but he knew the shock on Kai's face meant whatever he saw was a very personal and tormenting memory.

"I…"

Tala knew that returning to the hospital meant running into his mother, but, she may not be there at all. She could have left. Mr. Dickenson most likely dissolved the situation the best he could. Tala sighed, he'd risk running into his mother if it meant getting Kai help.

"Okay…Bryan. Have Spencer bring the car around."

Bryan hesitated, but nodded and ran off to get Spencer.

"Kai...hold on. The nightmare is almost over. Just a little longer…we'll get you right again…"

It scared Tala. He was honestly afraid for Kai, he didn't know how long Kai would be like this, but he suspected leaving the hospital so early only made it worse.

Once Spencer brought the car around, Tala guided Kai into the backseat, and got in with him. Bryan sat in the front passenger seat.

"Take us to the hospital…" Tala ordered.

Spencer nodded and did what he was told. They all helped Kai in, and Tala was uptight...worried at any moment that redhaired woman, his mother, would turn the corner and they would meet again.

"Ah...man…"Tala rubbed the back of his neck, "okay…"

Spencer and Bryan exchanged looks, then looked back at Tala. They were all silent, but Tala slowly turned to face them.

"I...need to tell you guys something…"

"I told you he'd tell us when he's ready…"Spencer whispered to Bryan.

"Earlier today, my mother was here…"

"Your mother?"

"Yes. It was her. There's no way to mistake it, she was here with her new family...tch. I hate surprises…"

"She...but-wait you're, you're positive?" Bryan asked.

"Yes. She was here. It's something I'm going to have to deal with later…"

"We're a team, Tala. If it's your problem, it's all of our problem."Spencer said, "we've been through worse. We can handle this."

Bryan was in shock at hearing Tala had ran into his mother after so many years. After being silent Spencer elbowed him in the arm.

"Oh...uh….He's right, you know…"Bryan said finally, "we'll deal with it as a team. So...don't think you'll need to deal alone."

"Right...thanks. For now, let's just deal with Kai…"Tala nodded.

The three stayed at the hospital until hearing from the nurse that Kai will be staying. That wasn't a surprise, but they didn't feel right just dropping him off and leaving right after.

* * *

><p><strong>Just so you guys know, this was a bit of an emotional workout to write. I hope you enjoyed. I did promise more Kai after all. And we're going to explore his psyche more.<strong>

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


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